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by Xyliana
Summary: -
1. Awaken

A/N: We said it would be up very soon, didn't we? Thanks to everybody who's stuck with us so far! We hope to never disappoint!

And to those just coming in, please read **Wildfire** first as this is the sequel. Not much will make sense to you otherwise.

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><p>Chapter 1. Awaken<p>

_In his small house in the Seam, Gale Hawthorne stood with his three younger siblings, cooking some sort of game he had hunted earlier in the day. For the first time in a long time, all three of his younger siblings were there to help._

_The only thing that interrupted the scene was the sudden knocking on the door. Smiling towards the little girl, Gale asked Posy to go answer, assuming it was his mother home with more work to do. The 4 year old nodded as she shyly ran off. However, Vick and Rory also followed after her, a little to Gale's surprise._

_The next instant played out in almost a blink of the eye. Posy's scream echoed through the home, startling her oldest brother. Gale turned and dashed out of the house, but when he opened the door, the Seam was no longer there. Instead, he stood in a familiar jungle-like forest with damp grass. He couldn't pin point where he had seen this location before from, but it didn't matter._

_He turned his gaze back to where the house once was, but instead, all he found was a large tree. From the branch, Posy stood with a spear stabbed clean through her before plummeting to the ground, her legs shattering._

_The oldest brother's eyes widened as he tried to run for her. However, his feet had sunk into what looked like part of a swamp and vines began to constrict his legs slowly like snakes. Two more screams echoed as he looked right and left. To the left, he witnessed a mysterious figure carve a curved blade from Vick's stomach to his heart while on the right Rory's body began to sizzle before bursting, filling the air with an eerily familiar red mist._

_Gale tried to scream out for them, but his voice had vanished. He looked around wildly for something, some sort of help. Instead, when he turned his head back, he found himself face to face with Madge, covered in her own blood._

Gale's eyes snapped open immediately and his body sat up in the cushioned bed under him. Sweat was pouring from his forehead and dampening the hair that he suddenly grasped onto tightly, allowing a scream of terror to escape from under his arms. Quickly, as soon as Gale began screaming, two skinny arms were suddenly around his chest from the side of his bed, comfortingly, as if the person had been sitting and waiting, knowing he would wake up, screaming in horror. The sudden touch only startled Gale more at first as his screams abruptly stopped and he turned with wide eyes.

Katniss, face dirty and scratched, was sitting by his bed, looking concerned but unsurprised. She slowly let go of him and sat back, worried she had touched him too soon. Around her were plain, white walls while an assortment of wires ran from Gale's arms and chest to IVs and other machinery.

"K-Katniss..." he choked out as he slowly began to gauge his surroundings. Slowly his eyes trailed down to all the tubes attached to him before his vision snapped back to Katniss, more horror evident in his weary eyes. "What happened? Where is everybody? I didn't win, I couldn't have! Willow, Amur, and..."

"Shh..." Katniss said quietly, setting her hand on the side of Gale's head gently. "We got you, Willow, and Amur from the Arena. They're in other medical rooms, getting checked out. I told you I would get you, remember?"

Only the basic message of Katniss's words processed through Gale's rattled mind. _They are alive. _That much eased him, but it wasn't enough to make him any closer to being alright. He grasped her hand that was on his head quickly, but, as he did, his mind flashed back to Madge. To her hand on his cheek, bloody and weak as her life was stolen slowly from her body. He trembled, but his grasp only became tighter.

He tried to think of other things quickly, to try and keep his sanity and strength. However, if it wasn't Madge's death, then Sage, Sisal, and Joule's were the immediate next string of thoughts he couldn't push away. The fall, the slash wound, the... "K-Katniss... what happened to Joule?"

Katniss just pressed her lips together. She had sworn she wouldn't get emotional in front of Gale, especially with him in the condition he was presently in, and she intended to keep that promise to herself. She hadn't even allowed herself to cry over Madge's body, afraid that Gale would wake up at any second and see her. She pulled his hand into her lap, holding it with both of hers. "Let's not talk about that right now, Gale."

"What happened to Joule?" he repeated as he looked up to her with desperate eyes. "Her body... sizzled and... there was an explosion... and after that, I remember seeing..." He reached up slowly with his other hand, running his fingers lightly down her braid as he pulled it to rest on her shoulder. He was desperate and needed to know what had happened.

Tears quickly sprung to her eyes when he touched her hair and she looked down at their intertwined fingers, not letting him see. "She had... Thermite in her glass eye... When she was fighting, somehow it broke I guess, and the powder got all over her. She had no choice but to jump into the force field so it would explode, so we could get in and rescue you."

"Thermite? She snuck that past the Gamemakers? And..." His mind froze as he dropped her braid. His eyes traveled down to the black outfit the girl before him was in and piece by piece he forced his unstable mind to connect everything. "She was... breaking the force field for you all to come in... Amur, when he stabbed my arm and dug into it... It was all planned. Willow too?"

She nodded slightly. "Amur had to get the tracker out that the Capitol had inserted in your arm, as well as all our arms. I... tried to tell you the plan, but you weren't talking to me in District 13, which is the only place I could have told you without being overheard."

Slowly, Gale pulled his hand out from under Katniss's as he turned his head up towards the ceiling. His body never ceased to tremble as he laid back down. A smile spread across his mouth but the tears that started down his cheeks were evidence enough that the grin was empty. "Then..." he choked, his voice strained and flat. "I couldn't save anybody. I was the one everyone else saved."

Katniss slowly looked at him after he pulled his hand away from her. She chewed on her lip for a moment before setting her hand gently on his arm. "Gale... I know... it's hard. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you the plan. I... should have made you listen, but I knew that... Joule, Willow, and Amur would take care of you and they did. And there's nothing wrong with that."

Gale didn't seem to hear her though, or he just wasn't listening. His eyes weakly moved back and forth towards the ceiling of the room, counting the holes in the tiles to himself. He kept this up for a full minute or two before speaking again, but his eyes staying in place. "Let Haymitch know he was right."

Katniss frowned slightly, watching him cautiously. "About what?"

"I'm not special, nor am I necessary."

Suddenly, instead of sadness, Katniss felt an intense stab of anger. She had watched Gale carefully, planned all of this for him, to save him, and now he was just brushing it off like it was nothing. Now with the joy she felt at getting him out alive mixed with the sadness from Madge's death mixed with the intense anger, she was just a hurricane of emotions. She stood up suddenly. "I'll do that."

There was a long pause as Gale continued to stare only up. He could tell by her tone that his comment had upset her, but his mind was so warped with this new information that he couldn't bring himself to focus on it. Katniss's face slowly began to turn red and she quickly turned and walked out of the room. She had to keep herself from yelling at him, knowing what he just went through was almost unbearable, having just gone through the Games herself a mere few months before.

That didn't mean, however, that it wasn't very hard.

In the small hallway of the large craft, Peeta stood with his back against the wall, waiting for her. In the week since they had escaped via the hovercraft, the painter had been informed about everything that transpired at the Justice Building meeting he had missed.

Seeing Katniss, the boy straightened up a little and gave her a sympathetic smile. "He awake then finally?"

Katniss just nodded stiffly, arms crossed, but didn't say anything else about him. "How are Willow and Amur?"

"Awake," he sighed. "Amur's able to get up and walk but I don't think Willow's doing too well with everything."

She nodded slightly, as if expecting that. "She's a child. I guess it'll take her a while to be okay."

"What's the plan now then?"

Katniss shook her head slightly. "I don't know. There's not much we can do until Gale and Willow are at least able to get out of bed."

"Maybe we should go talk to Haymitch. See if anybody has a plan of action yet or any ideas on what to do from here."

She paused for a moment before shrugging slightly and nodding, still upset and finding it hard to care about anything other than wringing Gale's neck. She started walking down the hallway anyway to the large room where the Mentors and Haymitch often congregated in. Inside, most of the mentors had come together, many watching as Beetee messed with the television screen in the center of the room. At this, Katniss raised her eyebrows slightly, but walked over and stood by Johanna, Finnick, and Annie. "What's going on?"

"Volts and Nuts here think they can find a way to get a connection to broadcasts without running a cable," Johanna explained, though she sounded bored. She started pulling at her sleeve a little, not liking being so constricted. "So we can see what's going on or something."

Katniss rolled her eyes slightly at the nicknames, but continued to watch Beetee and Wiress intensely. "I'm sure it's obvious what's going on. The Capitol's probably trying to cover up the break-in... or trying to put a price on all our heads."

"It would still be better to know den I guess," Chaff's voice came from a few feet away as he sat at a table with his friend.

Katniss shrugged slightly and Haymitch tilted his head back slightly to look at Katniss. "How's Hawthorne?"

Katniss sent him a slight glare and another shrug. Haymitch clucked his tongue and looked away from her. "No need to be so tetchy, sweetheart."

"Got it!" Beetee's voice interrupted everything as the television flickered on. The screen faded for a second before the capitol's symbol appeared on the screen. Haymitch's head lifted from the back of his chair and he turned to look toward the screen along with the rest of the room.

Beetee found a seat away from the television so he did not block anybody's vision as a young woman with baby blue colored skin appeared on the screen. "This is a special report coming live from the Capitol to all Capitol citizens. Due to a shortage, we ask that all citizens conserve their food resources. Transportation has been halted due to a series natural disasters preventing the transport of seafood and grown produce such as fruits and vegetables to make the trips to our Capitol."

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows for a brief moment before comprehension dawned and she couldn't help the small smirk that formed on her face. Chaff let out a hearty laugh as he patted Haymitch on the back with his stump. "So we caused 'natural disaster' eh?"

Haymitch smirked slightly and shoved his shoulder against Chaff's. "Or rebellion. Same thing, I guess."


	2. Situations

Chapter 2. Situations

As the broadcast ended and the screen faded to black, many of the mentors in the room looked quite proud of the announcements. Johanna even turned towards Finnick and slapped a hand on his back. "Looks like your entire District's joined the fight then, Fish."

Finnick smiled at Johanna and curled his arm around Annie's shoulders. "I'm sad to say it, but I'm surprised."

"It's... good," Annie nodded up towards Finnick, a slow smile creeping over her mouth.

He nodded and smiled at her, kissing her forehead gently. "It's good. Those Capitol women can't live without their salmon."

"If only we could get District 1," Johanna laughed loudly. "I would kill to see them trying to manage without their glamorous makeup and precious wigs and jewelry."

The back of Haymitch's neck slowly began turning red.

"Too bad District 1 will never give up their place as the Capitol's golden child," Katniss said, bitterly. "Idiots."

"We'll get to them eventually. Like I said it's too priceless to let the chance go by, ridding those Capitol morons of their fashion and trinkets."

Haymitch's head turned quickly toward Johanna, his face suddenly serious and his eyes narrowing dangerously. "They're not all idiots, Johanna. Watch what you say."

"Are you kidding me?" the nudist spat, looking back towards him.

"No, you're being a bitch," Haymitch hissed back, standing up suddenly.

Her eyes narrowed at him. "I'm sorry, Mitch. Did I hurt your feelings? I didn't realize how sensitive being a slave for the people we are fighting against could turn you in to."

"And I didn't realize being a bitch permitted you to judge an entire city of people."

"Oh, stop. You're only acting bitter because your girlfriend's gone."

Haymitch dove forward without even a word and grasped the front of Johanna's black shirt tightly, pushing her against the door hard. Her body slammed hard against the wall, but she did not permit herself to make a sound. She looked up at him with darkened, narrow eyes. "Don't get angry with me, Mitch. You're the fool who let himself fall for somebody again after all this."

The room was completely silent after her words. Haymitch glared at Johanna for a brief moment before pulling his fist back and slamming it straight into her nose. The girl's head jerked to the side as blood dripped from her face. She still refused to make a peep, regardless of the abuse, before turning her face back towards his. Her expression remained solemn. "Does that make you feel better?"

Haymitch just stared at Johanna with a dark expression before pushing her back toward the shocked Katniss, not saying a word. He turned and stormed out of the meeting room, slamming the door behind him. Johanna grabbed Katniss's shoulder briefly only to prevent herself from tripping. By the time she straightened herself and got her footing, the blood from her nose was starting to run down her neck. She let go of Katniss before pushing her sleeve against her nose.

Katniss frowned before setting her hand gently on Johanna's shoulder. "I think your nose is broken. Maybe you should go to the medic rooms."

Johanna, however, pushed the girl's hand away. "Don't baby me."

Katniss just furrowed her eyebrows and slowly crossed her arms. "Fine."

Johanna pulled her sleeve back slightly to see if the nose was still bleeding. When she felt the liquid continue, she scoffed and shot a glance at Katniss. "You're friends with him. Next time you see Mitch, tell him to stick to his own damn conversations. He has no right to chastise what I say. Compared to us, he's been living the good life." Her eyes turned slightly towards Finnick at the word 'us' before turning on her heel and starting out. Finnick's face went from shocked to almost embarrassed and he looked away when Katniss looked at him with a confused expression.

Suddenly, she growled and stomped her foot. "WHY is everyone being an asshole today?"

Peeta lightly put a hand on her shoulder from behind. "Katniss, everyone's just worried about what's going to happen next... If you want, we can leave for a little bit and take a walk outside? Get some fresh air or maybe you can go hunting. The area's been secured outside while you were with Gale earlier."

Katniss gritted her teeth before nodding shortly. "Yeah... yeah, I'll go hunting. Before I hunt someone down in here."

Peeta reached down and grabbed hold of her hand, cautiously however. He held it lightly and almost caringly, but didn't entwine their fingers. Peeta knew right now would not be the best time to show many if any signs of affection and didn't want to send signals that he was so not to further her anger.

He turned towards the door and started out for the exit of the craft. Katniss quietly followed Peeta out, glancing over her shoulder at Finnick again, finding him looking away shamefully. Annie had scooted her chair closer to the bronze haired boy before resting her head in the middle of his chest, trying to comfort him though her eyes roamed towards everything else in the room. Finnick lowered his head and buried his face in Annie's hair, moving his hands to her back for a quiet embrace.

Peeta continued to lead Katniss on, stopping first to collect a weapon from those they retrieved from the Arena and Peacekeepers in the Capitol. Peeta opened the closest door for her and looked up. "We never could find a bow and arrows..."

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows in disappointment, but glanced into the closet anyway. The majority of weapons they managed to get from the craft and the Peacekeepers were guns of various sorts, but with those were only limited ammo. Mounted to the wall were the Arena weapons that the tributes had carried with them, as well as the weapons the Careers had at the final fight - a spear, ax, masonry hammer, two daggers, a small bit of wire, a sword, sickle, a mace, and a slingshot that Flax had attempted to use against Willow and Amur.

"I guess this will have to do." She stated after having stared for a moment at the various weapons before grabbing the slingshot. Peeta nodded before grabbing her hand again, turning to walk out.

When they finally reached the outside was when Katniss could truly take in how far from civilization the group had traveled. The hovercraft had landed itself North, miles upon miles away from the Capitol and Panem in general into what was known as The Wilds. Untamed woods surrounded them at every angle and it was anybody's guess what creatures lurked beyond the trees. It almost seemed like they were the first to step foot on these grounds possibly for centuries.

Katniss stepped out onto the grass and let out a soft sigh after inhaling the fresh air, instantly feeling better after getting out of the oppressive atmosphere in the craft. She softly squeezed Peeta's hand and set her head briefly against his shoulder. "Thank you."

Peeta looked down at her with a relieved grin. "I'm happy you're feeling better already."

"Outside always makes me feel better. It's so... stifling in there."

He nodded before looking back at the craft. "Johanna seems to be good at causing awkward situations."

"You're just now noticing that?" Katniss looked away slightly, picking up a rock and putting it in the slingshot, practicing aiming at a tree.

As she did this, Peeta decided to stand back a few feet and give her space. "I guess I just don't understand her that well or why she's the way she is."

"Peeta," Katniss shot the rock at the tree and it hit a bird in the head. The bird quickly dropped from the branch and smacked the ground. She turned back to look at him. "Not everyone remained unchanged from the Games like you did. You've seen that. She's bitter... and clearly something happened to her and Finnick. Finnick looked... upset when she mentioned it, something I've never seen him look before."

"I realize it's partially from the Games. I mean, just looking at Annie you can almost sense the constant fear and anxiety she has, Wiress too. But what could have happened to both Finnick and Johanna?" the boy asked as he looked at the bird, almost sadly.

Katniss sat on a stump, pushing her braid off her shoulder, looking at him. She paused for a moment before kicking her boot against the ground and leaning back on her palms. "Do you think... it's something...," she lowered her voice, her cheeks turning pink. "sexual?"

Peeta blinked a few times, in thought. "What do you mean? I mean, if it was, do you really think Johanna would be stripping down all the time or Finnick acting... flirty as much as he does?"

"People deal with things in different ways. And when Annie talked to us before the Quarter Quell, she was telling us to not let... her act so flirtatiously." Katniss whispered, unable to say Madge's name yet.

Peeta almost immediately looked up at Katniss. "'In case she wins,'" he quoted Annie. "I tried to make sense of that the majority of the Tour but couldn't think of anything."

"Annie isn't stupid," Katniss frowned, stretching out her legs and staring at her boots. "If... President Snow forced the Victors to..." She suddenly shuddered and shook her head, not able to finish the sentence.

"It's none of our business," he said quickly, not wanting to think about what Johanna or Finnick's situations could have been. "Knowing won't serve us any purpose."

"... I guess not."

"Do you honestly even want to know?" The blond boy looked back towards the hovercraft before walking over to sit next to Katniss. "Whatever their situation was could have been ours. I'd rather not know what could have been."

Katniss paused before taking Peeta's hand. "It would have been ours, I think, if everyone didn't love us together so much."

"Then I guess I have Haymitch to thank for that and coaching us so well to prevent it."

She glanced at him briefly, eyebrows furrowed, but didn't say anything. She just nodded slightly. "I guess we actually had it pretty easy."

"Not for much longer we won't." Peeta squeezed Katniss's hand with his own before turning the golden bracelet around on his wrist so the symbol was facing upright. Katniss traced the mockingjay on his bracelet with her free hand and nodded slightly.

"I wonder what we're going to have to do."

"Whatever it is, it's going to be rough. We haven't heard from Plutarch or anybody still in the Capitol since our break out. It's hard to tell if they're waiting for us to make a move or waiting for the right time to instruct us."

"Well, whatever it is, I hope it's not too much longer. I'm getting anxious and I feel like everyone else is too."

"I agree. I just wonder how everyone in 12 is holding out..."

Katniss just shook her head quickly. "I wanted to go back, I asked Haymitch. I need to make sure Prim and Gale's family are all right, but he said no."

"It would put them in more danger if we went."

She lowered her eyes and moved her hand from his bracelet. "No. They're in more danger without me there to protect them."

"If you or Gale were there, do you think Thread would hesitate from shooting right through them to get to you?"

"Before Thread even thought about it, he'd be dead, so it wouldn't matter."

"Katniss..."

"Peeta, you don't understand. Prim's there, alone. Do you know how scared she must be? She's the only thing I have."

"I'm sure Hazelle has been taking care of her the best she can," he tried, looking at her.

"'The best she can' isn't as good as I can." She shook her head again and stood up, dropping his hand. "I won't feel okay until her and that stupid cat are back with me. I know you're trying to make me feel better, but you can't this time."

Peeta pressed his lips together before looking away from her. "I'm sorry..."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. Just... stay here. I'm going to go attempt to shoot things with this stupid slingshot and you'll scare everything away."

He let out a very small laugh before nodding, picking up a long twig from the ground and starting to draw in the dirt. Katniss contemplated touching him, to comfort him, but couldn't bring herself to. She just lifted her chin a little and trekked into the wilderness. Peeta watched her walk off from the corner of his eye before turning back to the dirt, muttering.

"I guess it's just easier when you aren't afraid of losing family anymore..."


	3. Visitors

Chapter 3. Visitors

A week later, the drama had calmed down slightly, mainly because Haymitch had been actively avoiding Johanna and Katniss had been spending every afternoon outside with her slingshot.

Willow, finally, had gotten off her pain medication. She had slowly gotten to her feet and gotten dressed in something other than a hospital gown, deciding she needed to get better, and ventured out into the hallway of the craft. Willow paused, gripping onto the wall to prevent herself from falling. During the breakout, half of her torso had been burned from being too close to Joule when she jumped into the force field, so she was still very weak. As she made her way down, the dark haired hunter was sitting out on the floor with his back to the wall. He had been released from his room by Seeder, another Victor from District 11 who joined them per Chaff's request and had been treating the injured. However, while his body was okay, he couldn't focus on anything and attempted to avoid contact with everybody by hiding out in empty hallways and closets.

With his knees to his chest, Gale rested his forehead on his crossed arms, not noticing Willow down the hallway. She slowly made her way toward Gale and, just as slowly, slid down the wall to sit next to him but didn't say anything. Her movements alone gave him enough to gather somebody was there, however. Slowly his head lifted and he turned, looking to her with sleepless eyes. "Willow...?"

"Gale." Willow replied, her voice hoarse from lack of use. She turned her head slightly to look at him. "You don't look so good."

"Neither do you."

She smirked weakly and leaned her head back against the wall. "How are you, other than the obvious?"

"Tired," he admitted as he rested his chin against his arms. He had the urge to get up and walk off, wanting to avoid conversations in general at this point. But his body wouldn't move.

"I think we are all. Do you know what we're doing on this hovercraft? No one tells me anything. I think they think I'm going to go on a murder rampage."

"Nobody seems to be doing much of anything. Like they're waiting. I haven't... really asked though. To be honest, we could be in the sky and I wouldn't know the difference. Sort of feels like I am."

Willow quietly fiddled with the edge of her tunic before sighing, lifting her head and looking at him. "Do you feel... like you can't feel anything? I haven't... _felt _anything since..."

"Emotionally? Not while I'm awake I haven't."

"Nightmares?"

"I can't even call them that. The things I see are impossible, but they feel more real then right now does."

Willow nodded slightly. "... I know."

He turned his head towards her again as his tense body relaxed slightly. While he would never wish his experiences on anybody, it was comforting knowing someone might understand. And the more he thought about it, the more he started to realize Willow might understand more than even he will. Willow paused a moment before awkwardly grabbing his hand, like she had never done that before. She leaned her head against the wall. "I wish we were back at the beginning of the Games. At least then, we were useful, significant, wanted, strong. Now look at us. Fragile, annoying, empty bodies, with stupid human emotions making us miss... people."

Gale gave her hand a small squeeze before straightening his legs out. "It would have all ended the same, regardless."

She shook her head slightly. "I would have done so many things differently."

"Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of going back. Just... forward, I guess..." He didn't sound convinced.

"I don't want to go forward," Willow mumbled, shutting her eyes stubbornly.

"I don't think I want to either... but I know I don't want to stay here, like this."

"Then I guess forward is the only option. I, however, am content in my grief."

"Do you think they'd want us to be?"

"... I'll never have the chance to ask her, will I?"

"Neither of us will..."

"All she told me was to protect you and Amur and not let there be any more martyrs. And I intend to keep that promise for her. So you better make sure your stupid Mockingjay best friend is aware of this. I feel like she has a streak of martyrdom."

"She only popped poisoned berries in her mouth during her games. I don't know why you'd think she'd be a problem," Gale attempted to joke, but his tone wasn't following with the light hearted nature of his comment. Willow just smirked hollowly, knocking her foot against the side of his leg since it wouldn't meet his foot.

"Just make sure she knows I'm not going to be happy if I have to keep her from being an idiot."

Gale cracked a very small hint of a smile back at her. He went to talk again, but was interrupted suddenly by Johanna.

"EVERYBODY GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE! THERE'S A NEW BROADCAST!"

Willow glanced sharply up towards Johanna's voice and then down at Gale before reaching up toward the doorknob by her head, slowly pulling herself up, weakly. Gale arose much faster then Willow was able to move. He turned back to the younger warrior and extended a hand out to help her. Willow didn't even consider his hand; she had too much pride. She forced herself up to her feet and slowly began walking toward the room Johanna had yelled from.

The hunter watched her walk for a few seconds with a small smile before following, not having expected her to take the help.

* * *

><p>Inside the room, the majority of the Victors had arrived. Beetee stood by the television, which was beginning to flicker on and off as he tried to remedy the problem as quickly as possible.<p>

"Come on, Volts! This might be important!" Johanna nagged at the man.

Beetee ignored Johanna, but looked to Wiress. "Give me a hand with this, please? It looks like a frequency problem to me but that can't be right."

Willow immediately sat down weakly, Gale at her side, as Katniss came in with a basket of dead, roasted animals. She dropped them on the table, ignoring Gale and standing off in the corner, crossing her arms.

Wiress shyly walked from her chair to Beetee, standing on her toes and looking around to the back of the tv. She quickly opened a panel on the back and began fiddling with the wires. No matter what the two tried, however, the television continued to flicker as the broadcast began. The same woman as last week appeared on the screen, only in a bright pink and more ridiculous fashion, faded in and out as her words were choppy. "Today we... unfortunate... grain short..."

"Something's... wrong." Wiress stated haltingly, stepping away from the television and looking at Beetee nervously. Beetee pulled his hands away from the television as well, a perplexed look on his face. It wasn't long before the lights of the hovercraft began to flicker as well. Beetee's eyes shot up almost instantly.

"That's not a coincidence, either. It's not just a frequency issue, but the entire craft's power is being toyed with."

"Could the Capitol be controlling it?" came Katniss's small voice from the back of the room.

"The Capitol itself? No, it's out of our range. The only reason we're picking up signal to broadcasts here is tapping into the frequencies sent to a closer district. But it's possible by hovercraft for them to tamper with our power supply..."

"So they could be above us? Like. Right now?"

Beetee said nothing but his silence said it all. Johanna growled and immediately stood up. "Well, what are we sitting around for! Let's go find out!"

"And get shot down? Are you an idiot?" Finnick growled at her.

"So we wait here and get bombed then?" she spat back, which caused Annie to squeak a little and put her hands over her ears, as if expecting to hear the explosion. This caused Finnick to glare more intensely at Johanna, wrapping his arms around Annie tightly.

"Shut up, Johanna! Shit!"

Katniss just turned and left the room, quickly heading to the exit of the hovercraft and ignoring everything behind her. Katniss's exit did not go unnoticed as Gale immediately stood up from beside Willow and dashed after her, fully on impulse as not a single thought ran through his mind. The huntress didn't notice Gale, however, and she quickly ran outside.

"Katniss!" Gale shouted after her as she exited, practically jumping over the small set of stairs that led to the grassy floor. As his feet hit the ground, every light on the hovercraft turned off behind him.

Katniss spun around, her eyes going wide both at the sight of her best friend and the suddenly dark hovercraft. "Gale! Go back inside!"

Gale refused to stop until he was right in front of her, panting and grasping her arms slightly for support. He looked up at her, his eyes filled with fear, almost like a child's. However, something caught his attention directly above them and he slowly turned his head up to see the large hovercraft floating directly above their own. Attached to it's bottom was a large series of panels that were sending nearly invisible waves of energy at it. The only way the two could make out anything was being sent to the craft was the way the horizon moved in its position, waving almost like reality was warping.

Katniss quickly grabbed Gale's weakened shoulders and pushed him down until he was behind the stump that she often sat down on while hunting in the wilderness. She quickly jumped up on it, took out her slingshot, and shot a large rock directly at one of the hovercraft's windows. The rock flew up, hitting its intended target. Unfortunately, the window remained intact and her presence was now made known. The beam disappeared from under the floating vehicle as four rope ladders rolled out from it to the ground.

Katniss jumped down from the stump but stood protectively in front of Gale, pulling out her hunting knife, willing to go down fighting for him. Gale, however, immediately grabbed onto Katniss's arm, standing himself up. "Do you see that?"

"No, Gale, I've gone blind," Katniss said, sarcastically. "Of course I see it!"

"No, _that!_" he said as he pointed towards the side of the craft which was facing them at an odd angle, making it difficult to see anything from its sides. Gale pulled her over quickly so she could see what he meant better. On the black craft was an emblem painted of a white owl. Its head was looking up with the wings draped down on the sides of a cityscape. "What is that?"

Katniss paused before dropping her knife down to her side, staring. "Not the Capitol."


	4. World

Chapter 4. World

It didn't take long before a group of men and women were at the bottom of the rope ladders. Guns in hand, each wore a large trench coat length white jacket with grey fur lining the hoods and sleeves. Half the group dashed into the hovercraft while the other half ran in the direction of Katniss and Gale. At the sight of the guns, Katniss raised her knife slightly, going back to her previous stance in front of Gale. But Gale grabbed her arm again. His mind seemed to snap back into thinking logically, now faced with a possible life or death situation. "They'll fire if they see you armed, we shouldn't alarm them."

She growled slightly. "_They're_ armed. We're two teenagers with a slingshot and a knife. I'm pretty sure they're not the scared ones, Gale."

"They're not from the Capitol, we don't know what we're facing or how they think, Katniss."

"Fine. Fine, if you want to die." Katniss shot him a glare and dropped her knife and slingshot into the dirt. As her weapons fell, the group of seven soldiers rushed them, aiming their guns. In the front and center stood a larger man, somewhere around Haymitch's age, and a patch with the same emblem on the craft sewn on his sleeve.

The soldier eyed the two weapons on the ground before looking back to Katniss and Gale. "Stay where you are and state your name and residency."

Katniss pressed her lips together before standing straighter, holding her hands up slightly in a sign of peace. "Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne, District 12."

The man looked confused for a moment, but his gun never faltered. He glanced around to his soldiers before focusing back on the two. "In accordance with our treaty, your type are not to set foot on our soil and vice versa. You realize the possible consequence of your actions, yes? What is your reason for your trespass?"

Katniss faltered slightly, looking at the soldiers. "We... we weren't aware." She paused and then sighed, lowering her hands. "We just thought these were the Wilds. We rebelled against our Capitol and destroyed the end of their Games and now they basically want to kill us."

"Games?" a female soldier from the group questioned but was immediately shot a glance from the obvious leader of the group. The man turned once again towards Katniss and Gale.

"Regardless of reason, it is still in violation of the Summum-Circenses Treaty. You, along with the rest of your group back in your craft, are to be taken in for questioning."

"If you just understood..."

"It is not within my jurisdiction to let Panem trespassers go."

At this, Gale's eyes widened and head snapped towards the man. "Panem trespassers? Wait, so then where are we now? This is a different country?"

Katniss glanced at Gale slightly. "There are other countries?"

"I didn't..." Gale looked back at her, just as confused.

A few of the soldiers slung their guns over their backs, figuring the two were too clueless to be considered a threat at this point. The leader of the group lowered his gun a bit as well, staring at them. "There's an entire world... it seems we won't be the only ones with questions once we return to the... our Capitol."

Katniss just stared at Gale for a long moment before looking back at the soldiers. "What's your country's name?"

The man slung his gun over his shoulder. "This is Bonum."

* * *

><p>In the Bonum hovercraft, the soldiers had placed all the Victors together in one large room. It wasn't a prison, more like a lounge but the door was locked and soldiers stood outside on watch. Apparently Johanna had assumed the group were violent and threw a few chairs towards them but was eventually overpowered with very little actual violence, with the exception of a few bruises on her arms. The soldiers were a precaution mostly due to her actions.<p>

Katniss stood over Willow, lost in thought, as the younger girl sat weakly on a chair. Finnick had pulled Annie onto a couch, holding her closely, comfortingly, as they entered this new environment, while Haymitch stood right by the door, as if extremely anxious. Chaff stood right at Haymitch's side, eyeing the door up and down. "So, whaddya make of dis den? If dey were from the Capitol, I can promise at least one of us would have been shot. Probably Johanna."

"They're not," Haymitch said simply, glancing at the door as well. "They're too peaceful."

"They're from a different country," Katniss spoke up into the mostly silent room.

Nearly every head with the exception of Gale's turned suddenly toward her, every face showing either confusion or disbelief. The timid, golden eyed Seeder finally spoke up towards her. "There aren't other countries."

"There are," Katniss replied, letting go of the back of Willow's chair. "You know that the Capitol wouldn't want us taught about other countries. We landed on their land and it's supposedly breaching a treaty they had with Panem. They're called Bonum."

"Treaty?" Chaff finally questioned before looking to Haymitch. "Looks like we got ourselves inta more trouble den we bargained for."

Haymitch turned his eyes from Katniss as she looked away and he nodded. "Maybe we can claim ignorance."

"It's not like we're lying," Chaff nodded at him.

"We didn't know they existed. No wonder the Capitol fenced off all of our districts."

"Wouldn't want people breachin' dat treaty."

"Wouldn't want people knowing there's a life possibly better than Panem."

There was a slight bit of turbulence as the hovercraft landed. The sudden movement startled Annie, who clung to Finnick a little tighter, but kept her eyes widened towards the door. Finnick just held Annie tightly against his chest, smoothing her hair from her forehead. "It's okay, Annie. We're just landing. Nothing's going to happen to you."

"M-maybe..." she muttered as the doors suddenly swung open. The leader that had apprehended Katniss and Gale stepped into the room as his squad followed, all holding large bags the length of bodies. Finnick held Annie as tight as he could when the soldiers walked in, eyeing them.

"What are those?"

The female who previously spoke out of turn was given a nod by her leader. She walked towards Finnick and Annie before putting the bag on the ground. "Our climate is much different from Panem's. You won't fair well with the clothing you're in now," she explained before pulling out two large coats identical to the ones the squad wore only black.

Finnick relaxed his arms slightly, allowing a small smile at the woman. "See, Annie? Just jackets."

Annie relaxed a little before reaching out, running her fingers along the soft fur of the coats. As she did, the squad turned and began to distribute the remaining coats to everybody else. Finnick let go of Annie, but kept one hand gently on her back as he studied the jacket. "Uh... how cold is it here?"

"As our Capitol is to the most Northern part of livable climate, we experience snowfall all year round," the woman explained as Annie's head suddenly shot up. It wasn't alarm or fear that shined in her eyes, however, but an almost childish excitement.

"Snow? I've never seen..."

Finnick felt slight alarm, but he glanced down at Annie and saw her face. He smiled widely and pulled on his jacket before helping the dark haired girl with her's and giving her an affectionate kiss on the forehead. As the rest of the group suited into their coats, Johanna became significantly more annoyed. However, given the trouble she gave the squad, she didn't dare start an argument or turn down their gifts, regardless of how restricted and buried alive she felt.

Katniss smirked slightly as she zipped up her coat, her skinny body almost completely disappearing inside of it. "Feeling constrained, Johanna?"

"Don't even start with me, Lover Girl."

"If we're all ready then, it's time to go," the squad leader announced as his squad circled the Victors. None had their guns in hand, only mounted on their backs, so the circle was only meant to be certain none got lost as they began their march off the hovercraft. Katniss carefully held Willow up as they walked so she could keep up, but she kept glancing back at Gale.

Since the discovery of Bonum in the forest, Gale had remained almost uncharacteristically quiet. While he had certainly avoided conversations with everybody since he woke up a week ago, for him to be this quiet during such world changing information wasn't like the hunter. His eyes bounced around the inside of the hovercraft wildly, trying to memorize everything he saw even though he had yet to see anything that unique. It might have been excitement, but in his unstable state, he was too hard to read.

From Katniss's other side, Peeta placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I can take care of Willow if you need me to, Katniss."

Katniss paused and glanced at Peeta before smiling slightly, handing Willow off to him. "Thanks, Peeta."

Peeta gave her a small smile back before turning to assist Willow. As he did, Katniss slowed down a little until she was next to Gale. She put her hands into her furry pockets. "Are you okay?"

Gale ripped his attention from his surroundings and looked down at her, nodding slightly. "Yeah... of course I am."

"You've been quiet..."

Gale shrugged a little as his arms crossed. "It's just... so much..."

Katniss frowned slightly, pulling one of her hands out of her pocket and setting it on his crossed arms. "The whole... country-we-didn't-know-about thing?"

"Just... everything I guess," he shrugged and just continued looking at her before a sudden chill was sent through everybody. The doors of the hovercraft opened at last as a blanket of white covered all buildings in the horizon.

Annie's eyes went from being excited to terrified as she began to shake. She quickly turned towards Finnick and tried to hide her face, neck, and all other exposed parts of her skin against him, muttering. Only the words "hate" and "snow" could be made out from her muffled voice.

Katniss pulled her hood up, not being as affected by the snow as Amur, Willow, Finnick, and Annie suddenly were. Willow quickly clamped onto Peeta's arm, pulling the furry hood over her face, while Finnick's teeth began to chatter. Finnick tightly wrapped his arms around Annie, trying to hold any exposed part of her body to protect her from the arctic chill, even as he felt the beginnings of hypothermia coming on. Even Amur felt his entire body drop to temperatures he'd never before experienced, doing his best to stop the chattering his teeth threatened against and remain stone faced. He failed miserably.

"This s-s-sucks!" Finnick screamed into the oncoming snow and the squad surrounding them as he held Annie close to him, feeling helpless against the cold.

"You will grow used to it soon," the woman from before tried to reassure him through a smile and a suppressed laugh. Her squad leader instantly turned to look at her sternly. She immediately dropped her smile and did her best to keep a straight face even though she found the situation hilarious.

"It better," Finnick mumbled, but he gave the woman a slight smile, deciding he liked her and appreciated her humor.

The group continued onward until they eventually began to walk through a very large city which was much more spread out then the nearly congested Panem Capitol. The roads and sidewalks were the only ground clear of the snow while every building had pale shades of grey and winter tones. In the city's center stood the largest of it's buildings, many of which had archways in their fronts and domes upon their roofs. There were a few pillars with pointed tips but the entire scape overall was not overwhelmed with architecture. Bonum obviously took pride and beauty in their surroundings and did not focus on appearance as much as Panem.

Katniss silently observed Bonum for a long moment as she walked with the group, her eyes wide and bright, much more impressed with it than she had ever been with the Capitol of Panem. After a long walk through the city, the squad leader finally led the group into one of the larger buildings. The rooms inside were quite large with high ceilings covered with obviously hand crafted artwork. Peeta couldn't help but admire some of it as they walked.

The only time he pulled his gaze away was when the group came to a halt before a set of large woodcarved doors, the owl emblem engraved in them. The squad leader pushed open the doors, keeping them wide for the large group. The group pressed on through the large doors, having become deadly quiet as they walked through the large building, uneasy about what was to come.

Inside, a series of chairs had already been set up for the large group as a line of soldiers in the same patched coat the man who led them there wore. One by one, the Victors were led to designated seats in the wood walled room as one particular man who wore a much more ornate coat than the rest with golden fur and his hood down to show his golden hair, observed them from a raised chair in the back of the room.

Once all were seated, the man looked down at the group that sat before him. "Panem citizens. First and foremost, allow me to introduce myself. I am President Pyrrhus of Bonum. Please, inform me to what reason you have broken our 100 year treaty with our country."


	5. Home

Chapter 5. Home

Katniss glanced at her fellow Victors, expecting one of the older ones to step forward. When they didn't, she raised her voice slightly, looking very small as she stared up at President Pyrrhus. "We weren't aware of the treaty or your country of Bonum, and we apologize. We thought the woods were just part of the Wilds, unclaimed parts of Panem."

"In this treaty, it states that it is your nation's responsibility to keep it's citizens from our land so long as we uphold the same. Your citizens know not of this?" His voice was loud and intimidating yet at the same time curious. He seemed to know little to nothing of Panem or its cultures.

"I'm afraid we don't. Panem is an oppressive, barbaric, hateful country and they like to keep their citizens in the dark. Had we known of the treaty, we wouldn't have disrespected you in this way." Katniss, obviously, was trying out her new Mockingjay, diplomatic, authoritative voice. To a degree, it seemed effective.

The President stared down towards the girl. "Your name," he demanded.

"Katniss Everdeen, sir."

"Ms. Everdeen, what is your story? What has brought you and such a large crowd into our country's boundaries? How hateful has Panem truly become?"

Katniss pressed her lips together before standing up. Slowly, she began to tell her story, beginning with the poverty in the Seam to details about the Hunger Games. She spoke of President Snow and President Coin, including the uprisings and rebellion against the Capitol and, most of all, she told him of their breaking into the Arena to rescue the Tributes. And how, currently, if they were to stop running, it was very likely they and their families could be killed.

All the Bonum soldiers who lined the room seemed to cling to every word the girl said. Unlike the Peacekeepers, the soldiers here seemed to show much more emotion as many of them seem shocked, appalled, or in complete disbelief of the entire situation. The President, however, remained expressionless.

"If your words are true then your trial will surely play into your favor. However, before that, we must be provided fact that such acts truly occur."

Katniss nodded shortly, acting calm and collected, but inside, she was quaking, not only from intimidation but for fear of what would happen if they were found guilty. "On our hovercraft, there may be remaining video from some past Games."

"Very well. I will send a squad back immediately. For the time being, you will all be placed in a temporary living quarters and closely observed. Lt. Zephyr," he turned as the squad leader who led them in turned towards the President. "You will lead a squad to gather any information from the hovercraft. Send one of your soldiers to accompany these people to their new living arrangement."

Katniss glanced suddenly at Haymitch, unsure, but the older drunk looked unsurprised, looking at, apparently, Lt. Zephyr. Zephyr bowed briefly to his leader before turning to the group. As he instructed them to arise and follow, two of the soldiers opened the doors for them all. As soon as the group has risen and walked out of the large doors, Katniss let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The sudden anxiety of talking to such an intimidating man rushed through her body, making her hands shake. As they continued to tremble, a hand reached out from beside her as Gale squeezed one of her hands slightly. "You're okay."

"I know," Katniss paused for a moment before looking at Gale, lowering her voice. "Did I do okay?"

"You did great, Catnip."

"Thanks, Gale," Katniss smiled at him slightly, and then quickly looked away from him, having forgotten for a few seconds that she was upset with him. Gale just watched her closely for a brief second before dropping her hand. He wasn't exactly certain why she was mad, mostly due to his inability to focus or truly stop to think about why. He, however, hated the idea of her mad at him after everything that's happened.

The hunter turned towards the rest of the group and began to walk faster, murmuring as he walked ahead of her. "I'm sorry..."

Katniss glanced up when he walked quickly away and had to stop herself from calling after him. If she were honest with herself, Gale's words to her when he woke up weren't still upsetting her. Gale and Madge and how they were in the Games was and, after seeing the kiss during the replays of the Games, she could hardly stand it anymore.

* * *

><p>After a brief walk back down the streets of the Bonum Capitol, the female soldier whom the group now learned was named Mistral led them to a larger house. It was probably around the same size as the homes in District 12's Victor Village, only the architecture was much more rectangular. She unlocked the door quickly before looking back at the group with a slight smile. "Okay, come on in before you freeze to death!"<p>

Finnick, tucking Annie's head under his arm, ran through the doorway as soon as Mistral opened the door. He quickly pulled her further into the house so they couldn't feel the wind anymore. Amur was the third to rush in, his arms crossed so tightly against his chest that they were actually starting to get sore. Peeta aided Willow as best he could while still letting her have as much independence as he could before the rest of the Victors made their way inside their temporary home.

It was a quaint house with minimal decorations and all the necessities a group their size would need to live off of for awhile. There were multiple bathrooms and a few bedrooms, though it was obvious some were going to have to share beds or sleep on other furniture. Katniss quietly walked into the house and unzipped her coat, wiping some snow off the top of her head. She smiled, glancing around, glad it was much better than her previously envisioned prison.

"We'll be checking in on you regularly throughout the day," Mistral began as Johanna took off her coat as quickly as possible. "So if you need anything, you will have time to... um, miss? Maybe you should get a room before you..."

Johanna was down to her underwear, reaching to remove her bra next. Mistral's face was bright red, a look of shock replacing her previous smile. Katniss stared at Johanna for a moment before averting her eyes toward Mistral. "She doesn't like clothes."

"Okay, well... like I said, if you need anything... I'll be on guard outside," Mistral said quickly before turning and closing the door behind her just as Johanna finished stripping to nothing.

Katniss's smile faded and she looked at Johanna. "Must you always make everyone uncomfortable?"

"I'm not _making_ anybody feel anything," Johanna crossed her arms and turned towards Katniss. "She's a soldier, she's probably seen far worse than one naked woman in her lifetime."

"She didn't seem like she's seen worse. She looked like she was confused and uncomfortable."

"Not my problem."

Katniss sent her an unamused look before quickly running upstairs, determined to claim the first room.

* * *

><p>After everyone was more settled into their new temporary living space, Haymitch decided to scavenge through the kitchen for some liquor of any kind. As he had been avoiding Johanna since he punched her in the face, he glanced around the corner before walking in. Much to his chagrin, Johanna was standing over the stove boiling some water. She just stared down into the pot, contemplating, her arms crossed over her bare chest. Haymitch stood there for a moment, weighing which was more important to him. Alcohol won out and he walked, confidently, into the kitchen and straight over to the cabinets, searchingly.<p>

The nudist spotted the man from the corner of her eye before turning her full attention on him, smirking slightly. "Hey, Mitch."

"Put some clothes on, Johanna," Haymitch replied, not looking at her as he stood on his toes to search through a higher cabinet.

"Funny how you chastise my habits while searching so desperately to fulfill your own."

"I'm not desperate. You're the one who's desperate, standing around naked, needing attention so badly." Haymitch shot back, kneeling down to get into a bottom cabinet. His hand closed over a bottle of cooking sherry and he sighed, pulling it out. Johanna bit her bottom lip a little before stepping towards him and kicking the cabinet he was searching through shut. As the door slammed, Annie poked her head into the room from around the corner, eyes widened from the loud bang. Finnick, always quickly behind Annie, grabbed her hips softly, trying to distract her from the noise.

"Stop taking your frustrations over your Capitol bitch out on me."

Haymitch stood up suddenly, holding the bottle tightly in his hand, and he looked down at her, teeth slightly bared. "One- don't call her that. And two- what? It doesn't feel good when someone does the same thing to you that you've been doing to everyone else for years? Get over it."

"I could care less about the opinions of a drunk but the way you mope about, causing shit when someone so much as jokes about the idiotic Capitol citizens really pisses me off. If I wanted to travel with a Peacekeeper, I would have stayed in Panem."

Haymitch's eyes flashed and he spoke quietly, deadly, without thinking. "And if I wanted to travel with a whore, well, there's plenty of those in District 12."

Johanna faltered for the first time on their travels, her face beginning to turn a slow red with fury. She stared at Haymitch for a long minute before lunging at him, driving her fist into his stomach. Haymitch let out a cough, bending over and clutching his stomach with his free hand. However, he didn't even try to fight back. Johanna, on the other hand, was far from finished with him. She grabbed him by the hair and went to bash his face into the counter. Annie squeaked at the violence, covering her ears. Haymitch just stared at Johanna, realizing he was out of line and deserved this, not only for his words but for not rescuing Effie.

Suddenly though, Finnick barked from the doorway, letting go of Annie and slowly walking over. "Hey! Let him go, Johanna! You're upsetting Annie."

"Then get her out!" Johanna shouted, her words coated with anger and mind clouded with it as well as her forced Haymitch's face against the counter. Haymitch's head smashed against the counter and he fell to the floor without a noise. Finnick dove between her and Haymitch, setting his hands on Johanna's bare chest awkwardly and shoving her hard. Johanna landed on the ground but immediately scrambled right back to her feet.

"Get out of the way, Finnick!"

Finnick stretched his long arms to the side, standing in front of Haymitch. "I know, Johanna! I know how you feel, but you need to _stop_!"

"I'll stop once I've torn his head from his shoulders, that's when I'll-!" Johanna started to yell, but as she realized what she said, she put a hand immediately over her mouth. Finnick's arms fell to his sides as he stared at Johanna. He slowly turned his head toward Annie. The girl still stood by the doorway, though her hands were grasping the wall tightly as if she'd fall if she let go. Her widened eyes looked almost close to tears as she shook before immediately running off.

"Ann... Annie!" Finnick called after her before turning his eyes on Johanna. They suddenly flared up, angrier than he had been in a long time. He shoved Johanna in the chest again, as hard as he could. "What the hell is wrong with you? _You knew she was there!_"

Again, the nudist fell to the ground but this time she didn't stand back up. She glared down at the ground between her feet, now even angrier with Haymitch but herself as well. "Dammit Finnick, I told you to get her out of here..." she muttered.

"So now it's my fault?" Finnick yelled down at her. "Haymitch was right! You're selfish and you only care about yourself." He spat down at her before running after Annie. "Annie!"

Johanna didn't even turn her head to watch as he ran off. Slowly, she brought her legs up to her chest and hugged her arms around them. She continued to keep the angry look on her face and immediately pressed her lips against her legs when they began to quiver slightly. She refused to let herself look any parts guilty or upset. Haymitch slowly sat up on his elbows, taking a large swig from the disgusting sherry. He made a face and sat up completely, wiping some blood from his mouth. He studied her for a long moment before standing up and leaving her alone on the kitchen floor, disgusted and unable to say anything to her.


	6. Civil

Chapter 6. Civil

Since moving into the Bonum housing, Mistral as well as a few other soldiers from her squad had been visiting to check up on the Victors at least three times a day. Mistral herself had taken the responsibility of supplying them with food and clothing to make their stay in the snowy country more bearable, but after the first week, she had been permitted to give them more freedom. She began accompanying those who wanted to get out to various shopping locations around the Bonum Capitol. Johanna seemed to leave with her the most, avoiding contact with everybody in the house. She hadn't been seen without her clothing once since her fight with Haymitch and Finnick. Finnick had been sitting with Annie even more than usual, trying to force her into a better state of mind. Even two weeks later, he was still livid with Johanna for upsetting Annie so profusely and he refused to acknowledge her. Haymitch, while no longer mad, had been drinking even more than he usually did, staying incoherent for the majority of the time to keep his mind off Effie.

As Mistral walked into the house with a few bags in her arms from her and Johanna's latest shopping trip, Johanna walked in closely behind her. Her eyes briefly went towards Finnick and Annie before starting to walk past them. Finnick avoided Johanna's eyes as she passed and just held Annie closer to his body, setting his forehead on the top of her head.

Mistral looked up towards Johanna with a frown as the middle aged woman crossed her arms. "Johanna, don't you-"

"Shut up," Johanna spat back at her.

Haymitch glanced up at Johanna when she walked in, with Katniss sitting next to him, looking just as intoxicated as he did. He paused for a long moment before tapping Johanna's thigh with his bottle, thinking she looked like she needed a drink as well. She immediately stopped before turning towards Haymitch slowly, expecting some sort of instigation. "I'm really not in any mood to argue with you."

Haymitch just nudged her thigh again. "Come sit with us."

She rose an eyebrow before looking towards Katniss. Katniss smiled at her slightly, cheeks pink. She grasped Haymitch's shoulder and pulled herself up to her feet, quickly stumbling up the stairs to give Haymitch and Johanna their privacy. Haymitch frowned. "Now, you're not going to make me drink alone, are you?"

Johanna ignored his comment entirely as she watched Katniss go. "Letting our precious Mockingjay get drunk. Only you, Mitch," she laughed as she sat down, taking the bottle straight from his fingers and taking a long swig.

"She needs it," Haymitch said quietly, watching her. "So do you. I only give my alcohol to those who need it."

"I'm surprised you even could stomach the sight of me after what happened."

Haymitch paused a moment before swallowing his pride. "I could say the same to you."

There was a long pause, causing Johanna to take another long chug from the bottle. When the discomfort didn't go away, she sighed. "I really do hate you, you know."

"I hate me too, Johanna."

"Not for the same reasons."

"Probably not. You can tell me everythin' you hate about me, if it'll make you feel better."

"I don't need to talk about my feelings to _feel better._"

"You need somethin' to make you feel better, darling. You've been pouting for weeks."

"I've been avoiding pissing anybody else off, I don't pout."

"You're pouting," Haymitch reiterated, crossing his arms around his knees. "I can't speak for Finnick, but everything you've said to me is right."

Johanna drank some more of the liquid before pushing the bottle back to Haymitch. "This Capitol... _woman_... she's changed you, you know. All this feelings bullshit and calling me over here. The old Haymitch would have socked me in the face for even thinking about talking to you after that."

"She has," Haymitch admitted quietly, taking the bottle and staring down into it. "I'm stupid, so stupid, for getting involved with her, but I can't help it and she's made me soft. But I'm not sure if I mind yet."

"That's why I hate you."

"Well, good. Because that's why I hate me too."

Johanna reached over, grabbing the bottle, but didn't drink it yet. Her eyes traveled back throughout the room, towards Finnick and Annie, towards the door Katniss left from, then to the bottle. "I hate you, Finnick, Annie, the stupid Mockingjay... Everybody here."

Haymitch paused a moment, thinking about her words, before glancing at her. "Because we're weak enough to fall in love?"

"Because you're still able to."

Haymitch nodded slightly before stretching his legs out. "I wasn't, you know, able to. For a long time, you know that. And I guess I was content with my life. But then I met... Effie, and that's the only thing I can't forgive you for, Johanna. Talking about her the way you did. And that pisses me off because I shouldn't care about what you say about a Capitol escort."

"So then we have a mutual, civil hatred," she snickered before turning back to face him.

"Just like it's always been."

Johanna went to take another, final drink from the bottle but instead put it on the table. She shook her head slightly. "I'll never understand you and Chaff for liking this shit. It's disgusting and weak."

"We all have our vices," Haymitch said, taking the bottle from the table quickly. "And all of them are disgusting and weak in some way."

The woman stood up, stretching for a brief moment. "At least yours is easily accessible. I miss the hovercraft and Amur's endless supply of morphling."

Haymitch smirked slightly, looking up at her. "Stealing from a defenseless, injured man. Stay classy, Johanna."

She snickered slightly before reaching into one of her bags and throwing a small necklace box on the table. "Go give that to Annie for me. Finnick will slug me if I come within two feet of them. I'm going to bed."

He glanced at the box before looking back at Johanna, smiling, slightly surprised at the gesture. "Yeah, I will."

"Don't think any higher of me, Mistral told me to do it," she suddenly annouced defensively upon seeing the look on his face.

"Liar."

She didn't respond with words. She did, however, punch him once in the shoulder before exiting the room. Haymitch smirked after her before taking the necklace box, struggling up to his feet, and heading over to Finnick and Annie. Annie, her forehead still pressed against Finnick's, pulled back slightly when she saw Haymitch head over. Finnick's entire body tensed up and he glanced at Haymitch. He relaxed slightly, but before he could say anything, the older Victor held out the necklace box toward Annie, gently. "Johanna got this for you, Annie."

Annie blinked a few times up at him before slowly reaching out for the box. She glanced between Finnick and the box a few times, confused. Haymitch turned slightly and went back to his previous spot on the floor while Finnick frowned before glancing at Annie, stroking her dark hair gently. "You don't have to open it if you don't want to, Annie."

The girl looked torn for a little while longer before curiosity got the better of her. Her eyes lit up slightly when she pulled out the silver necklace. At the end was a round, glass ball with water and flakes that resembled snow as well as a star in its center. She shook the little charm and watched as the white flakes moved around inside before pressing the glass against Finnick's cheek. Finnick's frown was quickly replaced by a smile at Annie's reaction to the necklace. "You like it, then?"

"Not cold..." she smiled slightly.

He smiled wider and nodded, kissing her forehead softly. "So you can see the pretty snow but not have to deal with the cold."

She nodded as he kissed her forehead, looking back down to the necklace in her hands and shaking it every time the flakes stopped moving, mesmerized. Finnick paused before slipping a hand into her hair. "Do you want me to thank her for you?"

The girl gave Finnick another nod as she put the necklace on and looked up at him. Finnick gave her another small smile before slipping his hand from her hair and standing up. He glanced at the stairs before heading to Johanna's room, feeling slightly nervous. The door was slightly open already to Johanna's room as she began to undress inside. Finnick glanced into her room and knocked quickly on the door before she could get too naked. Johanna stopped before looking back, only missing her pants at this point. She walked over and opened the door the rest of the way, looking up at Finnick.

"... thanks," Finnick mumbled.

"You don't need to."

Finnick paused and looked up at her. "Annie loves the necklace and... she forgives you, so I guess I do too. Just... watch what you say in the future."

"You don't forgive me," she said flatly before eyeing Finnick.

"It wasn't me you needed forgiveness from," he stated, looking down at her. "It was her. You didn't do anything to me."

"Sure I did." Johanna crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame. "I hurt Annie. I brought back bad memories in her and caused her mental strain. I temporarily broke your girlfriend."

Finnick paused before letting out a slow breath and crossing his arms as well. "That doesn't mean you need or ever wanted my forgiveness, Johanna. Annie forgives you because that's just the type of person she is and that's all that matters to me."

"That's a lie. You have your own mind and opinions, Finnick. It's always what Annie wants and what Annie thinks. How about what Fishboy thinks?"

Finnick's eyes flashed and he suddenly looked slightly offended. He lowered his voice almost dangerously. "Don't do this, Johanna. I was trying to be nice."

"Were you being nice because you wanted to be?"

"No, of course I wasn't. I asked Annie if she wanted me to thank you and she said yes. You know she isn't well, Johanna, and she needs me to take care of her. If you weren't such a self-absorbed bitch, maybe one day you would know how it feels to be protective of another person."

Johanna laughed a little as she uncrossed her arms. Standing up straight, she lightly ran a hand from his shoulder to his chest, smirking. Her voice dropped a few octaves to a low, almost dark tone. "I already know what that feels like. And I also know what it feels like to lose that person. That's the only thing that truly separates us, Finnick."

"Then you should understand," Finnick snapped back at her, stepping away from her hand. "I love her. And when you love someone, it's not about you anymore. It's about them."

"And when they disappear?" she asked dropping her hand and staring up at him with questioning eyes.

"They don't always disappear."

"Yes, they do. Everybody disappears, and then you're all alone. Or you'll disappear and she'll be alone. You can't promise forever, especially in our situations."

"I've never promised forever. I've only promised to love and protect her until I no longer can. And that's all anyone can do."

"Then go back to her and love her until the Capitol tears the two of you apart." She snickered a little before grabbing the doorknob. Finnick stepped back again, looking at her, pityingly.

"And you go back to your lonely existence, cutting yourself off from everyone in fear."

"I never claimed to be perfect," she simply replied with almost a touch of sadness in her eyes before she pulled the door closed the rest of the way. Finnick stared at her door for a long moment before turning and heading back to Annie, muttering "no, but you're letting the Capitol win" under his breath.


	7. Survive

Chapter 7. Survive

While everybody was off in their individual groups or getting ready for bed, Gale had found an empty hallway on the third story of their temporary home to sit in. Just like on the hovercraft, he had his knees to his chest and chin resting on them as he stared blankly at the wall, counting the wooden panels that surrounded him. At first, he hadn't even noticed her.

Katniss, having somehow gotten lost between drinking with Haymitch and finding her room, ended up on the third floor. Somewhere along her journey, her pants had mysteriously vanished and she was left just in her tunic. She paused in the hallway, swaying slightly, uncertain of where she was when her eyes caught sight of Gale. Suddenly, she pointed at him as if having something important to say, but no words escaped her mouth. The shadow her extended arm made caught the hunter's attention as he immediately turned to look at her. His eyebrows immediately furrowed at her lack of pants and her stance. "Katniss?"

She quickly stumbled over to him, but didn't sit down. Her finger was still pointed while she slid her other hand along the wall to assist her movements. "I have something... to say to you. You're... inconsiderate."

"Incon...? Are you drunk?" he stared, the thought slightly amusing him but also worrying him that she was walking up and down the stairs of this large house by herself. He stood up immediately, grabbing onto her pointed hand, mentally cursing Haymitch and knowing this was somehow his fault.

The anger on Katniss's face melted when he touched her hand, but then she seemed to snap herself out of it quickly. She abruptly pulled her hand back. "You need to listen to me, mister!"

Gale almost looked offended, but he nodded. "Okay... sit down then first, then I'll listen."

"No, you'll listen now!" She poked him in the chest a few times. She continued this for a few moments before sighing and falling down to the floor, laying instead of sitting. "Why don't you love me anymore?"

"W... what?" Gale stared down at her on the ground, caught completely off-guard by her question. "What are you... Of course I love you, Katniss..."

"No, you don't! You kissed M-Madge!"

"You're not serious..."

"I'm dead serious!" Katniss snapped, curling her knees to her chest.

"You're... mad I kissed Madge... before she died. That's what you've been angry over?"

Katniss just rolled over and pressed her face flat against the floor. Hearing it said back to her, it did sound pretty bad, but she wasn't in any condition to admit to that. After not saying anything for a long moment, she mumbled, "Yeah, I guess."

Gale stood and stared at the drunk girl, dumbfounded. He turned his gaze down the hallway, unable to look at her any more. "Unbelievable..."

There was a brief moment as Katniss laid there, feeling shame spread throughout her body, before she quickly sat up, glaring at him. "No, you're unbelievable! I DIDN'T SLEEP FOR DAYS, GALE! I was watching your screen, terrified, worried only about you and then I have to watch you hold her hand and hold her and KISS her right in front of me! You don't get to make me feel bad about this!"

"And I didn't feel that way with you and Peeta?" he spat back, clearly getting frustrated. "I didn't do the same? I watched you run from fire, almost get killed multiple times by other tributes! I couldn't leave my house without shaking in fear of losing you! I was afraid that when I came back to watch the television, you'd be dead! But I forced myself to support both our families, only to return home and see you and _him_ in that cave! Leading him on, leading Panem on, leading _me _on! You have no right to be upset with me for kissing Madge once, practically as her dying wish, while I had to spend days watching you form a relationship that I'm still not a hundred percent convinced was completely for show!"

Katniss's jaw hung open a little before she narrowed her eyes. She stumbled to her feet, glaring at him. "We were only best friends when I was Reaped, Gale. You never told me how you felt, so how was I to know? But YOU knew my feelings, I told you them loud and clear, and yet you STILL doubt me!"

"As you do me, apparently."

"The Gale I know wouldn't have done that to me. I guess the Games really do change people."

"That's fine. Because the Katniss I love would have been more concerned with the fact Madge was dead than the fact she kissed me," he replied flatly as he started down the hallway. He knew that was harsh, but he couldn't stop himself. The words just came out and he knew later on he would regret it. But for now, he just wanted to stop the fighting before it got any worse.

Katniss ripped off the necklace he had left her before entering the Games and threw it hard against his back. She let out a soft sob and fell back to the ground, not wanting this fuzzy feeling to be in her head anymore. Gale stopped when he heard the metal fall against the wooden ground behind his feet. He turned back around, staring at the necklace on the ground before picking it up, observing the now broken chain. Katniss stared at Gale for a few moments before covering her face, trying to control herself so he wouldn't see her cry.

He slipped the piece of jewelry into his pocket before walking back over to her, kneeling down beside her. Without a word, he grabbed onto the front of her shirt, messing around with it for a few seconds until he stood up, her Mockingjay pin shining dimly on her chest. Suddenly, she grasped it and looked up at him, cheeks wet. "I.. I d-don't want it."

"It was Madge's gift to you, not mine. Don't be angry with it because you are with me."

"I... I'm not angry with you," She reached down and pulled the pin off her shirt, ripping the fabric. She threw it hard down the hallway before tucking her face against her knees again.

He watched the pin go off, biting his bottom lip hard to try and keep his voice calm. "Then what? What is it that you want?"

"I'm upset! I'm upset that you didn't consider my feelings, I'm upset that Madge was stupid enough to get killed when she knew I needed her, and I'm upset that she gave me that stupid pin and made me the symbol of a rebellion when I never even wanted to be in it and I'm upset that I've never had a choice!" She ranted, punching the wooden floor hard, not even acknowledging her knuckles as they began to bleed. "I want to go home... I want you to stop hating me and I want Prim to be safe and I... I even want to see that stupid damn Buttercup."

Gale's eyes went wide before he instantly dropped beside Katniss again, grabbing her hand to stop her from hurting herself. He was upset with her, but he didn't want her to bleed. "I told you before already, Katniss. You need to start listening to me."

Katniss shook her head rapidly, looking up at him and dropping her legs from her chest. "You said y-you'd never hate me. But you do. I can see it in your eyes, when you tell me how different I've become. I... I'm not your Catnip anymore. I'm _their _Katniss and _their _Mockingjay and I can't stand it."

"You're right. You are their Mockingjay and you have changed, but... I've changed too, as scared as I am to admit it. I'm angrier, I'm stupider, I have trouble focusing on my own thoughts, I don't think as much before I talk... but that doesn't mean you aren't still my Catnip and I can't still be your Gale."

Katniss let out a small sob and pressed her face against Gale's chest, wetting his shirt almost immediately with her tears. The hunter wrapped his arms tightly around the girl, holding her as closely as he could.

"You'll g-get better... I know you will, G-Gale, you're stronger than they are."

"I know," he began as he lightly kissed the top of her head. "But I can only be that strong when you're around. So... don't ever think I don't love you, alright? I can't survive without you."

Katniss tightly knotted her hands in Gale's shirt before nodding. She lifted her head slightly to press her mouth against Gale's, desperately. He returned her kiss the second her lips touched his as he trailed a hand from her back to her cheek. He secured his opposite arm around her waist, continuing to hold her close and dreading when he'd eventually have to let her go.

Katniss placed a hand on Gale's chest, pushing him back to a sit. Forgetting that she had no pants on, she quickly straddled his lap, moving especially fast for being so intoxicated, but pulled away from his lips. The girl pressed a kiss gently to the side of his neck and then pressed her forehead to his shoulder before pulling back slightly to stare at him with her face wet from tears, almost mesmerized, tracing her fingers over his cheeks and jaw. "Don't... let them destroy you, Gale. And don't let them destroy _us._"

Gale's face turned a hint redder from their position, but his eyes immediately locked onto Katniss's as she spoke. He reached up this time putting both his hands over her cheeks and gently wiping her tears away with his thumbs. He nodded to her. "I promise."


	8. Proof

Chapter 8. Proof

The next morning, Katniss slowly made her way downstairs and to the kitchen, her head pounding and her eyes sore from crying. All she could remember was losing her pants, yelling at Gale, and then somehow ending up on top of him. Sitting at the table, a few of the Victors were gathered and already eating breakfast which Seeder had been preparing. Among them, Gale sat next to Amur and they seemed to be in conversation. The talk seemed to stop once Katniss walked in though as the hunter looked over to her, smiling slightly.

"Morning, Catnip."

Katniss's face went from pale to bright red the second her eyes landed on Gale. She quickly looked away and grabbed a glass of water. "Morning."

Gale blinked a few times, but it was Amur who spoke up. "We got a summons today. Seems our trial is scheduled for late afternoon."

Katniss glanced back at Amur and slowly walked over, sitting on his other side. "I don't know if that's good or bad news."

Gale just stared at Katniss as she picked the seat that physically couldn't be more away from him. He threw his arms up in slight frustration and muttered to himself quietly, "Christ, what did I do now?"

Amur smiled, hearing the flustered Gale behind him, before looking back down at Katniss. Katniss's face flushed further so her normally olive skin was looking more like the color of a tomato. She sat there for a few moments before deciding the smell of food was disgusting her and the awkwardness of seeing Gale flustered her. She quickly stood up and walked back out of the room.

Gale, however, wasn't about to let this go after last night. He stood up and followed after Katniss. "Katniss! What did I do this time?"

The back of Katniss's neck was bright red and she turned around to look at Gale, furrowing her eyebrows. "What? _You _didn't do anything..."

He stopped when he turned around, baffled. "Oh... Then why are you avoiding me?"

She cast her gaze down toward the floor, lowering her voice to a near whisper. "I don't... I mean, I basically _attacked _you last night... pantsless."

"I didn't mind," he joked, crossing his arms, his mood a lot more cheery than it has been since before the Games.

Katniss smiled slightly and glanced up at him, still bright red. "It was _embarrassing_, Gale. Don't be such a pervert."

He let out a small laugh before reaching forward and grabbing her hand. "It's just me, Catnip. You don't have to be embarrassed."

"I'm embarrassed _because_ it's you, stupid. I would... never have done that sober and now I feel awkward." She frowned up at him, but squeezed his hand gently.

"If you hadn't, we still would be fighting or not talking with each other."

She stared at him for a moment before punching him in the shoulder with her free hand. "You wouldn't be talking to me if I didn't jump you? You _are _a pervert!"

"Ah! I didn't mean it like that!" he laughed before leaning in, planting a brief and unexpected kiss on her forehead. "Just drop it and come at least sit within _sight_ of me."

She smiled at him, pleasantly surprised from the kiss. She nodded a little. "Fine. Pervert."

He gave up trying to fight over his reputation and just started to walk back into the room, deciding to play into it instead. "Well you made it so easy for me to be one yesterday..."

Katniss began to follow him but then stopped, putting her hands over her ears in an Annie-esque way. "Gale!"

Gale only burst out into more laughter at her expense. He turned back towards her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, leading her back into the kitchen. A sudden awkward feeling hit him once they were inside though, causing him to drop his arm once he saw Peeta getting a plate to eat. The blond didn't notice them at first, which Gale became quickly thankful for. Katniss furrowed her eyebrows when Gale dropped his arm but then saw Peeta as well. Her smile faded and she just slowly walked over to the table, sitting back down.

* * *

><p>Later that afternoon, all thirteen of the Victors gathered in the room they were originally interrogated in. This time, the space was much more crowded with an entire jury of individuals wearing similar but less ornate coats to the President's, who sat in his raised chair. A television had been moved to the room as well.<p>

Lt. Zephyr led each Victor to their specific seats before the jury and President Pyrrhus. Katniss gazed at the jury and then at the President, her palms beginning to get slightly sweaty from nerves. However, then she caught sight of the television and started to feel slightly better, thinking they had found the tapes. Once everybody was seated, the President straightened up.

"Luckily for you, Lt. Zephyr and his squad managed to retrieve more then enough information to prove your story true," the President started.

Katniss sat up a bit straighter along with the majority of the other Victors, turning her eyes from the television to Pyrrhus.

"Myself and the jury have viewed these documentations and your story seems feasible. However," he continued as his eyes traveled down towards his jury. "This does not remedy the situation with our treaty."

Katniss's slight smile almost instantly faded. She furrowed her eyebrows and had to keep herself from speaking. Whatever she had previously thought of the country fled from her mind, as she suddenly thought _maybe everywhere is as heartless as Panem._

"With our treaty now broken, we are faced with a situation. While your story is unfortunate and unbelievable, it is because of your situation we are stuck. Being criminals of Panem's government, we cannot continue to house your group here for fear of nuclear backlash from Panem's District 13."

Katniss, suddenly unable to continue to hold her tongue, spoke up strongly. "There is no District 13."

Every single set of eyes in the room suddenly turned on the girl. Many of the expression's of the jury were almost identical to those of the soldiers when Katniss explained about the Hunger Games. It was no surprise to see President Pyrrhus unphased and calm. His ability to handle such drastic changes and information was definitely a mastered skill of his.

"For the past hundred years and during our private telecommunication meetings with Presidents from Panem, we have continued to receive reports about District 13's nuclear power plants and progress reports. It was in our agreement that while District 13 holds nuclear arms stretched towards us, we as a country were to never build our own."

"I don't understand how that's possible because, about a month ago, we were all there. It's in ruins. It was destroyed by the Capitol during the first rebellion."

"She's clearly lying," a man from the jury spoke up, looking to the President. "To save her and her group from punishment."

"Oh hush!" the woman sitting next to him scolded as she smacked his arm rather hard. "The girl told us about the Hungry Games or whatever it was called and had proof."

"So then where's the proof?" the man glared back towards the woman before shooting a glare towards Katniss. Katniss, far from respectful, crossed her arms tightly and pressed her lips together, eyeing the man.

"We'll need our soldiers to see the area for themselves," President Pyrrhus proclaimed, a few of the jury staring up with surprise. "We no longer have a treaty to respect."

"One of us can go with you, if you're unsure of where District 13's located," Katniss spoke up once more, honestly just wanting to get out and do something.

"It's a requirement," the President said, looking to her. "We'll need more than one, however. It'll be you and your group's choice as to who all goes, but we'll require at least four."

Katniss nodded slightly, glancing back at the Victor's, mentally going through their faces to see who was capable and stable enough to handle leaving.

"You'll depart tomorrow. Be prepared in the morning. You are all excused."

* * *

><p>Once they were outside and a good way from the room, a hand reached out and grapped Katniss's shoulder. "I want to go," Gale proclaimed from her side.<p>

Katniss sighed, already expecting this. She looked over at him. "Gale, you're not well enough yet..."

His hand stayed on her shoulder even as she moved, his eyes filled with desperation. "Katniss, if anything, I need this. I need to prove to myself I'm worth something in this group..."

Katniss stared into his eyes for a few long moments. She bit her bottom lip and looked away. "It's not just my decision, you know."

"Out of anybody, you'd be the one to stop me. But it's ultimately going to be up to you who goes and who stays."

"It's not going to be up to me. But if it is, I'll let you come, okay?"

Gale smiled widely before letting go of her shoulder. He walked to where he was in front of her, walking backwards, and took one of her hands in both of his. "And you'll be okay with it? And okay with all of this?"

She glanced up at him and smiled slightly. "If I'm honest, I need you there. I don't feel comfortable leaving you here without me."

He smiled before dropping something cold and hard from his hand into hers. He forced her hand closed before pulling something out of his pocket and messing with his shirt. "Thanks, Catnip. But don't forget, we're always with each other," he said as he dropped his hands, the Mockingjay pin she had thrown last night back on his chest.

"You're so corny, Gale," Katniss said, but she still flushed slightly in pleasure, glancing down at the necklace in her hands. The chain was still broken, since Gale didn't have the time to go find her a new one since last night. However, he had attempted to tie it back in place and it held rather decently. Katniss quietly pulled the chain over her head, letting it hang down her chest. She smiled at Gale slightly, pulling her fur hood over her head, almost playfully, feeling a million times better and more hopeful than the night before. "How do I look? Desirable?"

He snickered before pointing at her. "If I answered that honestly, you'd call me a pervert again."

"You'll always be a pervert to me, Gale," she laughed slightly, shoving his shoulder. "Especially if you find a broken necklace and a gigantic fur coat attractive."

"Well, I was going to say you look attractive in anything, but if you're going to be like this..."

Katniss suddenly blushed again and she pouted her lips a little. "You can still say that."

He snickered before opening the door to their house for her. At this point everybody else had already made their way inside. "We should see what the others want to do about this."

"Mean," She mumbled, but walked into the house before him anyway. Gale followed after to see everybody gathered in the living room. He blinked before walking forward into the circle of Victors.

Katniss blinked as well, staring around at all of them. "Well, since we're all already gathered..."

"We only got til da end of da day to decide," Chaff declared, looking at Katniss.

Katniss pressed her lips together. "Well, I'm obviously going. And Gale. Who else w_ants _to go and we can narrow it down?"

Peeta raised his hand up, looking at Katniss. Katniss turned slightly and locked eyes with Peeta. "... Peeta, I don't know."

"Why not? You asked."

"Because... I just. I don't know, it could be dangerous."

"All we're doing is showing them around District 13. I think I can handle it."

"Why do you always have to argue with me?"

Peeta blinked at her before putting his hand down slowly. "I'm sorry."

Katniss stared at him for a second before sighing. "Fine. You can go. And... Haymitch, I guess."

Peeta smiled slightly before looking to Haymitch. The older man paused and shrugged, sinking down a little in his seat. "Think they'll allow alcohol for the journey?"

Johanna snorted next to him. "Definitely not."

"Damn, you go, then, Johanna."

"I don't want to. Besides, there's a chance you might run into some Peacekeepers while you're there."

Haymitch paused for a long moment but nodded, mollified for now. "Point taken."

"So... looks like District 12's going to 13," Gale shrugged, looking back to Katniss.

Katniss frowned slightly. "Guess so. I feel like I'm discriminating."

"He said at the least four. Want to pick someone else?"

She paused and then nodded slightly, looking back out at the Victors. "Does anyone else even want to go?"

"Wiress and I would be best used here," Beetee pointed out, looking to Katniss. "And it would be best if Seeder and Annie stayed behind as well."

Katniss nodded, glancing at Finnick and Willow. "And obviously, you two as well." She glanced at Amur and Chaff. "What about you guys?"

"I'll go," Amur agreed.

Katniss smiled slightly and nodded. "There. District 4. Now we're good."

Gale snickered a little before looking to Katniss. "I guess we better get ready then. Tomorrow's going to be an interesting trip for everybody..."


	9. Betrayal

Chapter 9. Betrayal

The next day, the five who decided to go were woken up bright and early, almost rivaling the minimal sleep Effie used to allow them. Mistral had each of them suit up in their coats as well as the black outfits Cinna had prepared for them all, keeping in mind the climate change once they hit 13. After practically dragging the five out of the house and confiscating the bottle of alcohol Haymitch had attempted to smuggle under his fur lined coat, the group had finally made it onto the hovercraft, fifteen minutes later then scheduled.

As Mistral profusely apologized to Lt. Zephyr, the other members of their squad led the group back into the lounge area that once served as their holding quarters. Only this time, they all seemed more relaxed and nobody stood watch at the door. As the five entered the lounge area, Katniss let out a small sigh. "I guess everyone's more relaxed now that Johanna isn't here, threatening to kill everyone."

Peeta nodded immediately. "You weren't there. It was quite a show."

"I can imagine. I'm almost glad she refused your invitation, Haymitch."

Haymitch snorted slightly, shaking his head. "I'm not. Those controlling bastards took my liquor."

"Oh, it's not like you actually paid for it out of your pocket anyways," Gale looked at the drunk. "You'll just end up having Mistral buy you more anyway."

"I'd pay her back if she wanted me to!" Haymitch defended himself, frowning. "She could have at least let me have it for the trip. It's not a big deal."

"They probably don't want to cause anything on the craft," Peeta reasoned.

"It would only cause a fantastic nap."

As the District 12 Victors all talked among themselves, Amur sat down on a couch by himself. Over the past month or so since the Games, and even during, he'd been keeping a lot to himself and speaking only when addressed. Katniss's eyes, however, turned from the three arguing District 12 males and fell onto Amur. She frowned slightly and slipped away from between Peeta and Gale. She quietly sat next to Amur. "Hey Amur. Are you alright?"

The gentle giant turned his attention towards Katniss, nodding at her. "I'm sorry, Ms. Everdeen. I didn't meant to concern you."

She smiled at him slightly. "You can call me Katniss, you know."

He paused before nodding to her, a slight smile forming on his face. She smiled a bit more at him, comfortingly. "How have you been? Since the Games, I mean."

"Better than the other two, that much is clear," he said as his smile faded slightly. He turned away from her, staring at his hands, staring intensely at the golden band on his finger that Katniss never seemed to notice before. "I suppose... homesick would be the best way to describe it."

"Just because you're physically better than they are doesn't mean you're mentally better, Amur," Katniss said quietly, touching his shoulder gently. "So... you're married?"

He shook his head as he put a hand over the band. "Engaged, but we've been together for well over ten years." His voice almost sounded ashamed of the fact, however.

She furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "Ten years is a long time."

"We didn't want to get married. We were... happy how things were."

Katniss nodded slightly. "I can understand that. Then why do you sound so... I guess upset is the right word?"

Amur glanced over at Katniss, staring at her for a long time, as if trying to determine whether or not he should tell her more. When he decided that nobody seemed to know his story and he wanted to trust the Victors, he stared back at his hand. "We had a daughter... on accident."

Katniss pressed her lips together but she tried to control her tone so her hatred for parents wouldn't sneak into her voice. "Is that bad?"

"She's the most beautiful girl in the world... but they'll turn her ugly. Take her and try to turn her into a killer like they tried with me. The schools will force her to learn methods of battle and to never trust anybody but herself. They'll force her to be a Career."

Katniss paused and tightened her hand slightly on his arm. "Amur, we're going to fix it. We're going to fix everything. I promise your little girl will never have to kill anyone or anything if she doesn't want to."

"That's why I follow you," he said, looking up at her. "If anybody can, you can."

She smiled slightly, eyes slightly moist from his belief in her. "I will. We all will. It's already starting. You'll see."

* * *

><p>After hours of travel, the hovercraft had landed in the woods half a mile away from District 13's location. They had decided to keep a distance as to keep the craft hidden, still taking precautions that District 13 may exist and this may be a trap. Lt. Zephyr allowed the five Victors to lead while all his squad members followed with guns in their arms. Two also wore helmets with camera lenses mounted to the fronts to provide the proof President Pyrrhus's jury needed.<p>

Katniss led the pack of Victors and soldiers, feeling odd walking through the woods without a bow, or at least a slingshot now. The group hiked silently through the woods in anticipation. Finally, they finally could see District 13 through the trees. All the soldiers lowered their guns slightly at the sight of the ruins. It was just as Katniss had described - there was no District 13. Not anymore.

Still, the squad began to push forward. The ones with the helmet cameras glanced about the rubble, taking in as much as they could while another soldier pulled out a small device that began to beep slowly as he walked.

Mistral stepped over towards the Victors, her gun on her back. "It's really gone then..."

"I told you," Katniss couldn't help gloating, crossing her arms and standing slightly away from the soldiers.

"Then we've been afraid...of nothing."

Katniss's slightly superior smile slowly faded and she frowned. "I told you. You think a country that sends its citizen's children off to die would be above lying?"

"We never knew any of this," Mistral said, turning her attention towards Katniss. She seemed more serious now than she ever had before, like her entire world had changed because of this. "As children, we all learned about Panem's treaty one hundred years ago. To prevent invasion of our land and sending nuclear missiles our way, we agreed to their terms and have been advised to avoid them at all costs while supplying them with medical and miscellaneous resources."

Katniss paused for a long moment before locking eyes with Mistral. "What do you think will happen now?"

Mistral turned her head towards the rest of her squad. She thought long and hard on Katniss's question before deciding on what the most likely outcome of not only a breach of treaty but fully lying for so long to her homeland. "Probably a war."

Katniss nodded slightly, crossing her arms, but still wanting to comfort Mistral. "A necessary evil, but if it comes to it, from what I've seen of your country, you'd have an advantage against Panem. Especially with us."

She smiled slightly, though it seemed forced, before turning to Katniss. "They call you... the Mockingjay, right? You're someone really important to the people of Panem. I've heard the others talk about you.."

Katniss's face flushed slightly and she glanced away toward Peeta. "For some reason. Panem has proven not to have the best taste."

"Why would you say that? If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have known about District 13. We would still be cluelessly manufacturing medications and our needed resources to Panem. I'd say they chose fantastically!"

Katniss turned a bit more red and she looked up at Mistral. Usually, when she said she didn't understand why she was the Mockingjay, no one could give her a real answer. Suddenly, she felt as if she were useful; not just the face of the rebellion. Slowly, she smiled. "Thanks, Mistral."

Mistral's smile stayed brightly on her face until a gunshot echoed through the area. The smile on her face suddenly changed to agony as she immediately fell to her knee, blood pouring from her right thigh. Katniss's eyes immediately widened as she instantly grabbed Gale and Peeta's shirts, pulling them to the ground with her, looking around for the source of the shot. Behind them, Amur and Haymitch mimicked the three.

From the forests to the West, a squad of Peacekeepers emerged with guns aimed towards the Bonum soldiers. Mistral bit her lip to prevent herself from screaming in pain and giving up their location. She forced herself down on her back, pulling out her gun and opening her coat.

Gale's eyes widened as Mistral revealled a miniature arsenal of handguns hidden beneath the fur. She slid five towards Katniss on the ground before rolling on her stomach. It was almost like her mind had clicked onto a different mode or the mindset of a warrior as she pulled the barrel up and began to aim for the Peacekeepers.

Katniss grabbed one of the handguns automatically, sitting up slightly on her elbows, and quickly handing out the other four to the other Victors. Each one grabbed a handgun, though Peeta struggled a little with himself when the gun was in his hand. He shook his head violently, trying to push away the flashbacks that were threatening to throw him off, trying his best to not seem like the weakest person there. It wasn't working too well though as his hands shook.

Mistral only hesitated until each of the Victors were armed before sniping down one of the Peacekeepers who was running for Lt. Zephyr. "I should be able to k-keep them away, so only use those as only a precaution if they get too close, understood?"

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows, already sitting up slightly on one knee. "Mistral, you're hurt. We can handle ourselves."

"I'll be fine," she argued, firing a few more shots. "As long as I don't need to move from this spot. I need to cover Lt. Zephyr and everybody else."

Katniss, never good at following orders, carefully aimed her gun and shot one Peacekeeper directly in the head.

Mistral blinked a few times, but never took her eyes away from the battle. About twenty Peacekeepers had arrived at the ruins, outnumbering the small squad of eight Bonum soldiers greatly. Regardless, with Mistral sniping from the side and Katniss's blatant disobedience to her order, it took a few more shots to be fired before a handful of the Peacekeepers started for their location, bullets firing.

"Shit," Haymitch mumbled before beginning to shoot as well. "Try to see if we can get one to surrender! Or at least take them captive!"

"Good luck with that," Katniss yelled back at him before taking down another Peacekeeper.

Gale looked around the tree his back was to, towards the gunfire battle. Five of the Peacekeepers were still on their way towards them. He turned down to his side, seeing Peeta still shaking. Without a word, he ripped the handgun from Peeta's hand before turning back around the tree. Using the tree to steady his hands and aim straighter, he lined each gun towards where a Peacekeeper was running. When he got where he wanted, he fired both simultaneously, each bullet going into the Peacekeeper's shoulders. The man yelled and fell to the ground, dropping his weapon.

Katniss took one down at the same time before glancing back at Gale in surprise, as Haymitch, sensing his opening, lowered his gun and ran toward the fallen Peacekeeper, taking his gun before pulling him where he wanted him. As Haymitch went out, Gale and Mistral both covered him, firing at any oncoming Peacekeeper that even raised a gun against him. Gale's eyes stayed more focused than they had in weeks.

Haymitch bashed the last armed Peacekeeper in the face with the butt of the gun he stole, looking satisfied when he fell and began to bleed profusely from the head, possibly dead. The gunshots began to fade out as the battle with the squad in the background finally ended. All that remained was Lt. Zephyr with three of his men standing at his side, one on the ground bleeding while the rest were unmoving.

Katniss slowly lowered her gun, slightly shell shocked, while Haymitch grabbed the injured Peacekeeper by the front of his shirt, hauling him up to his feet. The man yelled in agony from the wounds in his shoulders, trying to escape. Haymitch yanked one of his arms backwards, almost barbarically. "Why are you all here?"

The Peacekeeper's yells turned into an eardrum shattering scream as his arm's bled out more. "O-orders!" he yelled.

Haymitch twisted Peacekeeper's arm slightly from behind his back. "President Coin's? What were your orders?"

"I-Investigate...! Hovercraft!"

"How long ago did you get the orders? Are you stationed here, in District 13?" Haymitch's voice had lost some of its urgency, but he still held onto his arm, in case he needed to force it out.

The man grit his teeth but knew he was trapped. His head dropped down as he panted. "W-were received orders while en route t-to... District 12... Changed our coordinates to c-come here instead..."

Katniss's head snapped quickly toward the man before she basically sprinted over. "Why were you going to 12?"

The Peacekeeper turned his head up, his eyes slightly widening upon seeing Katniss Everdeen herself stand before him. He bit his lip, saying nothing. Katniss forced her way closer, pushing Haymitch slightly to the side. She narrowed her eyes dangerously, grabbing his arm threateningly. "Did you hear me or have you gone deaf! Answer me!"

The man winced just at her touch as he turned his head back down to the ground. "T-to stop... the uprising..."

"The uprising." Katniss stared at him for a long moment before speaking again. "Were you the only Peacekeepers going there?"

He shrugged, saying nothing more. Katniss sighed. "I really don't want to do this, Peacekeeper, but you are giving me no choice."

"Go find o-out on your own. If you're g-going to kill me, do it now. I have no other information."

Katniss paused before stepping back. "Oh, I intend to find out on my own."

Haymitch, however, tightened his grip on the Peacekeeper's shirt. "Do you know where Effie Trinket is being kept?"

The Peacekeeper said nothing more to Katniss, but upon hearing Haymitch's question, he couldn't help but laugh. "T-the escort traitor? Be-being kept? You f-fool, she's working for Panem..."

Haymitch faltered for a moment, his hand loosening in the man's shirt briefly, before he tightened it again, almost painfully. "What do you mean, working for Panem?"

"G-go find a tape of l-last week's broadcast. You'll see her, r-right there at the Peacekeepers' sides."

"They're forcing her. They have to be. You assholes!" Haymitch suddenly swung his fist hard at the Peacekeeper's jaw.

The man's head snapped to the side as he spit out blood. However, his laughter continued as his head dropped down. Haymitch pushed him hard against a nearby tree, his hands shaking. "Don't you DARE laugh!"

As the man fell over, Mistral's gun rose. The bullet went through the Peacekeeper's forehead immediately, instantly killing him.

"That's enough of that," she commented, her eyes on Haymitch.


	10. Smoke

Chapter 10. Smoke

Haymitch dropped the man's dead body after a few seconds and curled his hands into fists, shaking in anger. However, he didn't say a word; he just turned his head away from the group pointedly.

"... we need to go to 12. Please," Katniss looked at Mistral, her eyes pleading.

Mistral looked back to Katniss before forcing herself to a sit. "Katniss... we can't. Our squad is too small and it looks like more than just I got injured..."

Katniss chewed on her bottom lip."Please, Mistral. My sister... she's a talented medic. She's good. 12 is so much closer than Bonum. You guys can stay in the hovercraft. Please, if there are more... they could die."

The soldier sighed as she mounted her gun on her back. "It's not my decision. Lt. Zephyr is the one you need to convince..."

Katniss pressed her lips together before sighing and nodding, instantly running down the hill to Lt. Zephyr without another word. On the field, Lt. Zephyr watched almost hopelessly as his fellow squad members attempted to stop the blood from escaping one of their fallen member's leg. His gaze turned towards Katniss, being on high alert now for even the subtlest of movement. Katniss glanced at the squad members on the ground before clearing her throat. "Lt. Zephyr, I have a question, sir."

"Make it quick, we need to be heading to the craft soon."

"I wanted to ask if we could stop by District 12 before going back to Bonum."

His eyebrows shot up so high that they disappeared under his hood. "Out of the question."

"Please, sir. It's so close, much closer than Bonum. There's an uprising, my sister... she's a healer, a very talented healer. She can help these people sooner."

"That may be, but we cannot risk being seen more than we already have been. It's entirely too risky and we don't have the proper permissions and our numbers have decreased too drastically, especially to enter into a hostile environment."

"You can stay in the hovercraft. All of you, I'm not asking for your assistance, only a ride there. Please, she's only 13..."

"If the craft was spotted in Panem soil already that they sent their soldiers after us then we most certainly cannot get any closer. My answer stays a firm no."

"Fine!" she snapped, spinning around and turning to walk back up the hill. "I'll walk there."

"You will do no such thing!" he declared as he reached out, grasping her shoulder. "You are still on trial under Bonum jurisdiction and not to be let out of our sights."

She spun on him suddenly when he touched her, shoving at his chest. "I'm going there, damn it! And you and your stupid rules aren't going to stop me!"

He stumbled only slightly before bringing his gun up, aiming it towards her. She held her arms out. "Go ahead! You might as well because I'm not getting on that damn hovercraft with you unless it's heading for my _home _in District 12, you bastard!"

"We will head to the hovercraft and review all we've learned from this attack. If we can contact President Pyrrhus, then we will see if we have permission to infiltrate."

"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!"

"It's that or I fire and drag you back to the craft, Everdeen. You're choice."

Katniss stared at him, fire in her eyes with her fists clenched. "Fine. But if he says no, I'm leaving. I'm not going back there without my sister."

"Walk. We're regrouping and heading to the craft now."

* * *

><p>The entire journey back to the craft took almost twice as long as the walk there, due to the injured. Amur had to carry the injured Mistral which slowed him down quite a bit. Unfortunately, the other soldier who was bleeding from the leg also had a bullet wound in his back and bled to death before they could get out of sight from District 13.<p>

Once on board, Lt. Zephyr immediately gave the orders to his remaining soldiers to keep a close eye on all exits of the craft. As they ran off, the leader made his way to the control room without even so much as a glance at Katniss.

Katniss, however, was not known for either her patience nor her tact. She followed Lt. Zephyr closely. "Are you going to talk with your President?"

"Our telecommunications device is in the control room, calm yourself."

"Don't tell me to calm myself," she narrowed her eyes, keeping pace next to him. "I'm coming with you."

"Fine, but remain silent or you will be removed," he warned as he opened the doors. Inside wasn't as large as you would expect for such a large ship, being really only comfortable enough for four people. Lt. Zephyr sat down in a chair in the front center of the area before dialing a few numbers into the buttons panel.

Katniss stood behind him and crossed her arms. "You better explain the situation correctly."

"Hush," he barked before the window of the ship was immediately replaced by television noise briefly until the President's face appeared.

"Lt. Zephyr, your report on the situation?"

"It's as the girl said. District 13 has been flattened and none of our radioactive tracking devices picked up any signs of nuclear weaponry," Lt. Zephyr began his report. "However, the situation turned grim. Panem sent their soldiers after us whom were apparently on their way to travel to Everdeen's home region to deal with an uprising. They were instructed to cut us off and only myself as well as four of my squad remains."

The stone cold look on the President's face was almost chilling. "I see. That is unfortunate. Please hurry your travels back so you can file the full report to myself and the council."

"I intend to. However, there is a problem. Mistral has been shot and is bleeding profusely from the thigh. If we do not get her medical attention quickly, I fear for the worse."

For the first time since meeting with Katniss, Pyrrhus's eyes showed a hint of emotion. Concern. "I see. But if you cannot make the trip back to Bonum in time, I see no other options."

Katniss, yet again failing in following orders, sensed Pyrrhus's concern. She cleared her throat again. "My sister is a healer, President. She can help Mistral if we stop by District 12. It's much closer than Bonum."

"District 12? Was that not where the soldiers were being sent before intercepting your squad?" the President eyed her. Lt. Zephyr turned, giving Katniss an immediate glare.

Katniss gave Zephyr a look before looking back at Pyrrhus's image. "It was. There's a current uprising there, but _I _can get her."

"Flying the craft there would be dangerous. Too much so. If Panem discovers your presence, it will be disasterous."

"Sir, if I may," Lt. Zephyr turned back to him. "Flying in on our Bonum craft is indeed risky. However, we have a Panem craft currently still in good condition and nearby."

"This sounds more like a rescue mission than a medical emergency."

"It's both," Katniss admitted firmly. "And I'm afraid I can't leave without my sister in all good conscience."

"This mission sounds extremely risky for the small number of squad you have remaining, Lt. Zephyr."

"I can manage. Especially if we have the disguise as Panem soldiers."

Katniss fell quiet, glancing at Lt. Zephyr. She had been prepared to have to fight the man on every issue, and instead, he was helping her. The President stared at the two for a long time before nodding. "Only under the disguise. do not show your Bonum craft and leave your uniforms off."

"Thank you, sir," Lt. Zephyr nodded to the President before the window returned to normal. He turned his head back towards Katniss. "Now wasn't this a better alternative than being shot?"

Katniss's cheeks turned slightly pink but she lifted her chin slightly, defiantly. "Yes. Thank you."

"It will be a half hour to the Panem craft then an hour to District 12. Prepare everybody," he said before pressing a few buttons and switches as the craft began to rise. Katniss nodded once before quickly exiting the control room and sprinting down the hallway to where everyone had gathered.

* * *

><p>The time Lt. Zephyr had estimated was spot on. In the time it took to collect the Panem hovercraft the Victors had escaped on and close in towards District 12, Lt. Zephyr's report on Mistral's condition was beginning to become more and more true. Her fellow soldiers had attempted to stop the blood from continuing, but their medic of the squad had died in the crossfire and none were trained how to properly remedy the situation. The anxious Victors and the squad from Bonum brought Mistral into what was formerly the Victor's meeting room, laying her on the table. Mistral bit her lip hard, still attempting to stop herself from screaming out in pain as she crossed her arms over her face.<p>

"This isn't looking very good," Amur noted as the soldiers removed Mistral's long coat, the inside stained with blood and her pant leg dripping.

"She'll be fine," Katniss said quietly, determined, turning her eyes slightly away from the woman on the table.

The craft shook slightly with turbulence before shooting back in the direction towards District 12. It would take another hour to travel there, plus an unknown amount of time to find and bring back Prim to the ship. With the rate Mistral was bleeding out, it seemed they would either just make it or just miss it. Katniss's concern for the woman in agony on the table was overshadowed, suddenly, by the intense worry for her sister and the anger toward the Capitol. She silently walked over to the window in the room, watching the trees darting past as they flew.

The next hour seemed to drag on forever before District 12 began to come into view. Smoke was rising into the sky from its buildings and the flicker of a variety of fires lit up the twilight sky. Katniss gripped the windowsill tightly, staring towards her home. She turned, heading quickly for the door, anxious to get out and to District 12 as fast as she could. Gale's eyes turned to the window almost the instant she left it. However, when he saw the fires and smoke, he did not move. His eyes stayed wide and fixed on the District, his fists clenching slightly.

The craft flew until it was directly above the District's center. The three soldiers who remained, and had now abandoned their coats to attempt fitting in more, followed behind Katniss. One carried a rope ladder while another turned the camera on his helmet on. The third reached his hand out, gripping the latch on the door and looking to Katniss. With his spare hand, he handed her a gun identical to the one he had slung over his shoulder. "We've been instructed to go on your command."

Katniss barely glanced at the man. Her eyes were focused, angry. She just took the gun and held it tightly before nodding. "We'll begin in the center. Move out toward the Seam, where it looks like there's the most fire. I need you to search for both a small blond girl and a mother with three small dark haired children. If you see them, bring them immediately back. I'll go check my house in Victor's Village and the school. Got it?"

"We can't linger long," the man warned. "Also those descriptions are vague and we cannot afford to split up."

"I'll lead you towards the Seam," Gale's voice came from behind Katniss as he walked down the hallway. "One go with me and two go with Katniss."

Katniss paused, finally turning her eyes from the door to look at Gale. She furrowed her eyebrows, wanting to object, but then she settled on just pressing her lips together. "Fine. Be careful."

"You too. We'll be in and out as fast as possible and meet back on the craft. And you," he turned his head towards the soldier with the camera. "Keep close to her."

His voice was very authoritative, laced with determination. Between the gun fight at District 13 and now the break in to District 12, his focus had returned as the want to prove himself became a need. The lead soldier nodded as the cameraman handed Gale a gun for himself. All turned toward the door as the latch was pulled and thrust outward. The rope dropped down towards the smoky ground below, granting them entrance to the chaos.


	11. Uprising

Chapter 11. Uprising

Katniss held the gun in one of her hands and quickly, not using the steps, slid down the rope ladder. She landed suddenly, crouching amongst the chaos and the fire. The huntress didn't even wait for the soldiers and Gale to follow her; she just took off quickly toward Victor's Village. All around her, smoke was in the air as citizens of the District took to the streets. Many of their faces were covered in bandannas and bed sheets to hide their identities, almost in a way reminiscent to Gale's appearance when he stopped Iris's execution. The citizens were all dashing in different directions, some going towards the Justice building, others towards where the Peacekeepers lived, many carrying sticks on fire and bottles of alcohol with rags sticking from them. Over all this commotion, the screeching sounds of the train halting at the station echoed throughout Victor's Village.

The sound of the train's brakes squeaking made Katniss sprint even faster. She held her gun tightly with both hands and ran up to her house, not yet touched by the rebellion. She kicked the door down quickly with her boot and ran in. "PRIM? Prim!"

Behind her, the cameraman soldier as well as the man who threw the rope down followed her into the house. Both held their guns up while the second soldier took guard by the door to make sure none followed them in. Nobody replied to Katniss's screams. Katniss kicked a nearby chair in uncontrolled anger, but spun quickly and ran back out of the house and from the abandoned Victor's Village. She sprinted back to the chaotic center, scanning the crowd frantically.

In the crowd, a group of Peacekeepers that had originally come with Thread tried to stand their ground against the rebels. Behind Katniss and the soldiers who barely struggled to stay on her trail, more Peacekeepers exited the train that had arrived and began to flock into the Village. Almost immediately after their feet hit District 12 soil, gunshots began to fire towards the crowd.

Katniss shouted "Prim!" into the crowd, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of gunshots. She ducked her head slightly and ran back to the Seam, hoping that maybe Prim had taken shelter in their old home. As she ran, a few explosions went off around her but none close enough to do any damage. The fires were the least of their worries, though, as a Peacekeeper voice boomed from behind her.

"It's her!"

Katniss, however, didn't glance back. She kept her head down until she reached the Seam and practically dove into her old home, ignoring its roof that was on fire. As she got in through the doorway, the cameraman's hand immediately grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Katniss spun around, looking up at him. "What?"

"Is that her?" he asked, pointing in the direction of Gale's house. Exiting the building, Gale carried Vick on his back as Hazelle held little Posy. At their side, Rory and Prim were staying close together near the soldier.

Katniss's breath caught in her throat and she nodded hurriedly. She quickly ran over to them, setting her hand hurriedly on Prim's back, as if checking her for damage. The child turned her head up towards Katniss, her eyes wide and a bright smile flashing on her face instantly. "Katniss!" she cried before throwing her arms around her sister's waist.

Katniss quickly wrapped her arms around Prim's slight shoulders, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, her eyes becoming watery almost instantly. "Prim. I was so worried!"

A hand grasped Katniss's shoulder, urgently, interrupting their reunion. "We need to get out of here, the environment's getting too hostile," the soldier who accompanied Gale declared. As he spoke, the Peacekeepers who had been on Katniss's tail came back into view.

Katniss glanced back at the Peacekeepers and nodded hurriedly, letting go of Prim. She glanced at Gale, readying her gun. "I can hold the Peacekeepers off. They're going to keep following me. Just get the kids back to the hovercraft as quickly as you can."

The hunter looked back towards Katniss, debating whether or not to listen. Ultimately, he decided it would waste too much time to argue. He turned back towards the cameraman. "Stay with her. I need to the other two to help me cover them."

The man nodded as Gale began to run through the backstreets of the Seam, to remain out of sight, everybody following. Katniss watched them until they disappeared from her sight. She quickly turned her narrowed eyes onto the Peacekeepers, raising her gun and began to spray bullets toward the group. A few of the men fell as the cameraman soldier stood and began to fire as well. As they faltered, not expecting the rebels to be armed with guns, the cameraman looked briefly at his companion. "We should run as well while we have them surprised."

"Good idea," Katniss nodded, spinning around and running the way that Gale had disappeared. A few more explosions began to sound near the Justice Building as the two ran.

Since they had not left too much earlier then Katniss, the group was within their sights but still a good distance. Gale only paused to check around the corner of the house to their right. They were within running distance of the hovercraft, but would need to run into the commotion. Gale readjusted the boy on his back before making the run for it, everybody following his lead. Katniss and the cameraman quickly caught up to Gale's group as they entered the chaotic center. She turned around to watch their backs, holding up her gun as she ran, but found that, in all the riot, it was almost impossible to see any Peacekeepers.

As the group ran together, a few gunshots fired. The loud sounds startled Prim enough to not see the discarded bottle on the ground. She stepped right on it, falling to her knees. Rory, who had been running beside her, immediately stopped and tried to pull her to her feet. "C'mon, Prim, watch where you're walking!"

The boy practically dragged Prim back up to her feet. Once she was standing, he grabbed onto Prim's hand so she wouldn't trip again but the boy only managed to take two steps before a gunshot fired. He screamed out loudly, falling down to his knees and holding his bleeding shoulder. Katniss's head turned sharply to look at Rory and Prim. She quickly let go of her gun and swung it around so it hung on her back. She ran over and picked up Rory with slight difficulty, realizing that he wouldn't be able to climb with his shoulder now injured.

Rory let out another cry from being moved before burying his face in Katniss's back. From the front of the group, Gale's eyes widened as he saw his brother with Katniss. "What happened?" he yelled back, going to run towards them but the soldier at his side stopped him.

"We need to get to the craft! You can find out once we're safe."

Gale pushed his hand off him, his face red. "That's my brother! Don't tell me what to do!"

Katniss didn't know if she could tell Gale that his little brother was okay yet, so she just hiked Rory gently up her back a little, yelling toward Gale as she sprinted, now more desperate that Rory was hurt, reaching the rope ladder and grabbing onto it. "Hurry up!"

Gale's eyes followed after Katniss, biting his bottom lip, having no choice. He dashed towards the rope ladder, leading their families and soldiers alongside him.

Katniss quickly climbed up the rope ladder with one hand, holding onto Rory with the other. Gale grabbed hold of the rope, but instructed everyone to ahead of him as he held his gun out to cover them. One by one, everybody began to climb after Katniss, racing for the top.

Katniss pushed open the entrance to the hovercraft, scrambling inside as gracefully and quickly as she could. She raced back to one of the medical rooms in order to find a bed and immediately laid Rory down as gently as she could once one was found. Once he was down, she inspected him quickly, as worried for him as she would be for her own family. As more and more of the rescue group made it to the craft, the room Rory laid in became more and more crowded. Prim, Hazelle, Vick, and Posy all rushed in, Hazelle immediately bursting into tears upon seeing the bullet wound. Gale was the last to arrive after covering everyone. His eyes grew wide at the sight of his brother before rushing to the boy's side.

The boy's shoulder was bleeding at a much faster rate than Mistral's wound, which was bad considering Rory was much smaller than the woman. His skin was already beginning to turn pale and his lips were starting to quiver. Prim immediately turned to Katniss. "T-there's medical supplies here, right? I can help! W-we need to hurry!"

Katniss tore her eyes away from the blood pouring from the boy and looked at Prim, face pale. She touched her blond hair gently before nodding a second later. She quickly ran to the cabinet where they kept the supplies they had used on Gale and pulled out a large white box, handing it to her small sister hurriedly. Just as Prim's small hands grasped the box, Lt. Zephyr walked into the room. His eyes went to Katniss and Prim. "Everdeen, Mistral needs medical attention now."

"I..." Katniss trailed off, glancing at Rory's small body. "Can it wait like two seconds? Please. He's been shot too."

Lt. Zephyr looked towards the boy, his expression falling slightly. However, his eyes turned back to Katniss. "She's worse. Come see for yourself."

Katniss's face got slightly paler, but she quickly left Rory's room, Lt. Zephyr following behind her closely. Inside the room they had placed the injured woman in, Mistral's already pale complexion was almost ghost like. Her breaths were weak and far between, but her eyes managed to stay open. Only slightly.

Katniss's eyebrows immediately furrowed and she rushed over to Mistral, taking her pale hand in both of hers. "Mistral..."

The woman opened her eyes slowly, smiling towards her. "You g-get her...?"

"I did..." Katniss forced a small smile. "One of... Gale's brothers got shot, but I'm going to get her to come over here immediately instead, okay? Hang on."

"His brother...?" Mistral blinked her eyes, warily. "How badly...?"

"It's in the shoulder. I don't know."

Mistral's head slowly turned towards the ceiling, deep in thought. She said nothing as she listened to the steady pulse beating in her ears. Finally, she made her decision. "Help the boy."

"What? Mistral, no, look at you..."

"He'll die... if he doesn't get treated now, won't he?"

"You'll die if you don't get treated now."

"It's between me and him."

"I... yeah. It is."

"T-treat the boy first then..."

Katniss pressed her lips together before looking up at Lt. Zephyr. "Can you tell Prim? I'm... going to sit here with Mistral."

Lt. Zephyr's eyes stayed on Mistral for a long moment before giving Katniss a slight, saddened nod. He turned away from the room, leaving the two. Mistral smiled slightly as he walked out before turning back to Katniss.

Katniss quietly looked down at Mistral, holding one of her hands. Since they had outsmarted the Games, she was hoping she wouldn't have to watch another person she liked or admired died. It turned out that was a useless wish. She smiled slightly, sadly, at Mistral. "I'm sorry."

"Y-you did nothing wrong... I never would h-have made it back to Bonum."

"I... I know. I just wish we had someone else to help you."

Mistral squeezed her hand a little before wincing slightly at the pain. She still, however, forced a smile towards Katniss. "W-we should have brought more than one medic... it w-was not your fault."

She touched Mistral's hair gently with her free hand. "I can... get you some morphling. If you're hurting."

"N-no, I'd rather... just have company." Mistral smiled a little more to herself before turning her face up towards the ceiling. The woman stayed silent for a very long time, just trying to hold on to every breath she took and continuing to squeeze Katniss's hand. "Katniss... you'll d-do great..."

Katniss didn't say anything for a long moment, watching Mistral's face. "You're... the first person who told me why I'd be a great Mockingjay and made me believe it. And... you've been great to us while we were in Bonum. I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't h-have to thank me... Just... believe in yourself a little more. Y-you've made such a d-difference already... Don't stop, o-okay?"

Katniss nodded weakly, lowering her eyes to the floor. "I won't, I promise."

"Good," she smiled as water began to build up in her eyes. She turned silent again for a long time, before blinking her eyes closed, keeping her breathing steady. Her body relaxed as she began to count her breaths mentally. They stopped around thirty as her skin turned cold.


	12. Heartbreak

Chapter 12. Heartbreak

The trip back to Bonum was a quiet one. Gale and his family hardly even dared to breathe as they watched Prim work her hardest on Rory's wound. Ultimately, she managed to get the bullet out and stop the bleeding, but had to put the boy on morphling due to the pain he was in. All the family could do was wait for him to wake up to determine his fate.

The death of Mistral seemed particularly hard for Lt. Zephyr. He said nothing to anybody on the craft and didn't so much as look at anybody when he landed the craft in District 13. With the help of his remaining squad, he collected the bodies of the deceased from the battle they had hours ago before making their final journey back to Bonum.

Katniss, silent for the ride as well, was the first Victor off the hovercraft. She quickly followed after the soldiers of Bonum, as if wanting to get as far away as possible from the hovercraft. Even though Mistral had asked that they treat Rory over her, the huntress couldn't help but feel that she had partially killed the woman and the guilt slowly began eating at her.

One by one, everybody exited the craft. The cameraman soldier was pushing Rory's stretcher-like bed in the back of the group with the help of Gale. Lt. Zephyr led the group to the main Capitol Building, through the all too familiar wood carved doors, and into the courtroom. He did not even bother to direct them on where to sit as he walked right up to the jury and President, who didn't seem like they ever left since last time.

"Mistral is dead. Panem sent their soldiers at us."

Katniss didn't walk much further than the wooden doors. She stood beside them with her head down, unable to look at President Pyrrhus after seeing the concern on his face for Mistral in the hovercraft. The court room remained quiet as President Pyrrhus stared directly towards Lt. Zephyr. He looked away after a minute, turning his eyes on Katniss.

"There wasn't enough time," Lt. Zephyr continued. "Her injuries were too bad. But we have managed to find proof that not only is District 13 gone but Panem did not want us to learn about it. Only myself and three others survived from the squad. They intended to take us all out."

Katniss slowly turned her eyes up toward Pyrrhus's when she felt him staring at her. She kept quiet, feeling it wasn't her place to speak, but she did try to express both an apology and sympathy through her gaze. The President looked towards Katniss for awhile longer before sighing. "It... could not be helped then," he finally spoke. The strict tone in his voice faltered, but he still tried to keep his strong demeanor through his choice of words. "We will review the footage of the attack and the situation in Panem, then take a vote on the appropriate actions."

Katniss looked away from the President and glanced back down. Haymitch quietly, uncharacteristically, slid an arm around her small shoulders, but more characteristically, didn't say anything either. Overall, it had been a hard day for, not only Katniss, but everyone and now, with the threat of war hanging over their heads, Haymitch felt like they probably all needed someone to lean on, even if it was someone unexpected.

Lt. Zephyr nodded as he turned towards the group behind him. "You will follow me back to your living quarters. The boy will be taken to our medical center and the rest of you will wait for the conclusion of your trial."

"There will be no need," the man in the jury who had previously spoke out against Katniss declared. "No trial shall be held for these people."

Katniss paused for a long moment, recognizing the man's voice. Her head turned to look up at him, slightly wide-eyed, almost scared, too tired to mask her emotions anymore. Upon seeing Katniss's expression, the woman from before arose from her seat. "What my fellow Senator is trying to say is that we need no further evidence. A vote was taken in your absence and your crowd will receive no punishments for breaking into our borders."

Katniss cleared her throat after a moment before speaking up, her voice slightly weak from not using it since speaking to Mistral. "We'll receive no punishment? So... what _will _happen to us? Will we be allowed to stay here?"

"That be will part of our discussion after reviewing your footage," President Pyrrhus spoke, his eyes back on the huntress. "For now, you will remain in your temporary home and we will call you back with the rest of your roommates when we require your presence."

Katniss paused for another moment before nodding, lowering her eyes from his, almost shamefully. "Thank you."

"And thank you, Ms. Everdeen, for your information and efforts."

* * *

><p>Back at the Victor's temporary home, Haymitch went straight to the kitchen to find some alcohol that Mistral had bought for him, not in the most jovial mood. Katniss quietly sat in the living room, head tilted slightly to the side, watching with confusion when she saw Wiress and Beetee messing with the tv. Prim ran over to her sister and sat down beside her before Peeta, who was the last to follow, entered the house. Gale and his family had decided to stay with Rory in the medical center until the boy was released.<p>

"Should you be messing with that?" the painter asked, looking at the two behind the television.

Beetee's head popped up from behind the screen. "We were practically ordered to. We were talking with a few of the soldiers and we mentioned how we intercepted broadcasts from Panem at the border, so they wanted us to do so here. We're rather far from range though, but I think I can figure out a way to strengthen the signal so we can get audio and video."

Katniss immediately wrapped an arm tightly around Prim, holding the blond close against her side without looking at her. She continued studying Beetee and Wiress. "So, they're trying to get more information on Panem. For a war."

"Possibly," Beetee admitted before looking back down to the wires. "I think they want to be as cautious as possible now with their alliance shattered. Mistral explained the history of the two to me before. It was a rather unfair and dominating agreement they had."

As his fingers fiddled a little more with the wires, voices suddenly began to emit from the box. "Dis... eleven... sending out mo..."

Katniss went to reply but then fell silent at the sound emitting from the television. Haymitch sat on Katniss's other side, setting his feet up on the table in front of him, sipping from his liquor, while Wiress said "here" softly, pressing against all the wires at once. The screen flashed a few times before the picture appeared. It was fuzzy, but only slightly, much like the quality the television in Gale's room had.

For once, the setting of the broadcast was in the mountain circled District 2 with no reporter standing before the screen but Thread instead. It seemed his efforts had gained him a few ranks higher in the Peacekeepers as he wore a more shiny jacket with golden, metal stars fastened to it.

He stood at attention, his hands behind his back while, a little in the distance but to his right, Effie Trinket stood. Her wig was now silver to match Thread's look and wore a silver suit jacket and skirt. She was looking in her calendar book, taking notes as the Peacekeeper spoke.

Haymitch abruptly dropped his bottle of alcohol as the television came into slight focus. As it shattered on the floor, he oddly didn't acknowledge it. His eyes were focused straight on the screen or, more predictably, on Effie's face. He seemed to almost be fighting the pain that threatened to show on his face as he noted how she matched Thread, in the way she used to match with Katniss.

"The tornadoes caused by District 4's hurricane so far have caused issues in Districts 8, 9, 11, and 12. We advise all citizens to aid in the relief and donate as generously as possible so we can continue to bring these people back to the lives they once had," Thread continued. Effie only glanced up on occasion, looking only to Thread and avoiding the camera. Katniss rolled her eyes slightly at the unbelievable lies Thread was coming up with but then she caught sight of Effie as well. She turned her eyes from the screen to Haymitch's face, feeling the alcohol he dropped sink into her socks.

Haymitch stood up and moved closer to the screen, standing between Wiress and Beetee. He slowly knelt in front of the screen, staring at Effie, as if willing her to see through the screen and realize he was watching. The woman never took her eyes from Thread or the calendar book, however. The Peacekeeper turned his attention over toward the silver haired woman. "I believe that covers everything then?"

She looked up from the pages of her book and nodded towards him.

"Very well. Thank you for your time and more news will come as progress is made."

Haymitch fell back to a sit on the floor, sitting in front of the screen like a small child for a few brief moments before he let out a growl, standing up quickly and stalking back off to the kitchen.

"Haymitch!" Peeta tried to call out after him, concerned.

"Leave him alone, Peeta," Katniss said quietly, understanding his reaction, as she stared at the screen. She had a flashback to when Gale was with Madge, kissing her in the mud. "He's just had his heart broken."

Peeta tore his eyes from the kitchen door to Katniss. "It's got to be a lie though, right? I mean, everything Effie did for us..."

Katniss shook her head slightly before turning to look up at Peeta, feeling betrayed, her eyes glistening slightly. "She wouldn't have coordinated her outfit with Thread's if she was doing it against her will."

"But..." Peeta shook his head in disbelief but took the place Haymitch had abandoned on the couch, next to Katniss. "Why would she do all this for us then if it was a trap? Helping your mother escape and collecting the camera my dad broke..."

"I don't know," Katniss looked at him, furrowing her eyebrows. "To get close to us? To get information? Regardless of why she played with us, we at least know that Johanna was right."

"We don't know anything." The painter crossed his arms before sinking back in the couch. Stubbornness seemed to be a shared trait in District 12. "I refuse to believe she was lying to us the entire time."

"Peeta, are you going to ignore the clear evidence right in front of us?" Katniss looked at him, incredulously. "She wasn't one of us. Therefore, we should have never trusted her."

"There is no evidence! So what if she was wearing silver? How do we know she wasn't forced to do that too? Make it believable and force us to lose faith in her? To want to give up?"

"They wouldn't know about her stupid coordination ideas. No one paid that much attention to Effie, she was just some stupid, air headed escort who doesn't care about anyone but herself." Katniss spat, clearly hurting for both herself and Haymitch. "And if you're going to take her side over Haymitch's, who has gotten us through everything, then you have a problem with your priorities, Peeta."

"I'm not taking sides, Katniss! You weren't there when she was taken away by Thread!" He stood up immediately, breaking more of the glass under his shoes.

"It doesn't matter!" Katniss snapped back, standing up as well. She ignored the sudden pain in her feet, since she had taken off her boots. "All I know is that we never should have trusted her! She's from the Capitol and all she cares about is her own comfort while Haymitch is in constant pain! He, as well as all of us, should never fall in love because, clearly, all that's going to happen is this! It's bullshit and you're feeling bad for _her_?"

"I'm feeling back for everyone! But I'm not going to lose faith in her because of a broadcast made by the government!"

"I can't believe you," Katniss stared at him, hard. "It's not like it's something they can fake. Effie clearly chose to stand next to Thread, to use her calender book to keep up his schedule instead of ours. That's the only thing that matters and you don't even care."

"You clearly forget who we're fighting against. Panem can do and fake whatever they damn well want. They've been faking against Bonum for at least 75 years. You can hate her and even hate me about it, but the desperation I heard back in the train inside that room with Thread and Haymitch... that wasn't fake."

Not even giving her the chance at arguing any further, Peeta turned on his foot and started for the kitchen, wanting to make sure Haymitch wasn't already dead from alcohol poisoning. Haymitch, however, was sitting on the floor in the kitchen, an empty bottle already by his feet, starting on number two. When the painter walked in and looked down at the drunk, he wasn't surprised. He contemplated to himself for a moment before walking over and sitting beside him. Haymitch didn't look at Peeta, as if he had been expecting this. He took a swig from his bottle, ignoring him.

"You don't have to talk to me," Peeta informed him as he picked up the empty bottle at Haymitch's feet. "I just want to make sure you don't overdo it."

"Don't need a babysitter, Mellark."

"I can't be here as a friend?"

"No," Haymitch replied, stubbornly, setting his head against the cabinets.

Peeta watched him for a second before giving a small shrug. He stood up, but just walked back over to the trash can to throw the empty bottle away. Instead of exiting, he went to the fridge and started to make himself something to eat. Haymitch didn't watch him. He fell sideways to the floor before speaking to Peeta, although it was more like he was just talking to himself. "It hurts and... I don't know why I told her I loved her. She never said it back, I didn't expect her to. Why would she ever... but still."

"She tried to tell you something," the painter replied, keeping his eyes on the sandwiches he was making.

"Not that," he said quietly, taking another long swig.

"How do you know? The Peacekeepers interrupted her before she could finish."

"Because, Mellark, she's from the Capitol!" Haymitch snapped, finishing the second bottle and throwing it against the wall, seeming satisfied with the smash. "And I annoyed her and I was stupid and shouldn't have said anything. I shouldn't have felt anything to begin with."

"So was Plutarch. And Cinna and Portia. But they all helped us escape, to thwart the Games. It doesn't matter where you're from." Peeta put down the sandwiches on a plate before pulling out another bottle of alcohol and handing it off to Haymitch. "When you feel strongly about something or someone, no matter how hard you try or much you know you shouldn't feel that way, you can't stop it."

"I haven't felt anything for 25 years," Haymitch said quietly, slightly calmed by Peeta's words. He took the bottle from the blond boy and opened it.

"I bet it felt nice then after so long." He turned back to the counter, grabbing the plate. He thought for a moment to himself before looking down at Haymitch. "When I was in the cave with Katniss and you sent her that sleeping medication... it was the most afraid I ever felt in my life."

Haymitch paused, furrowing his eyebrows, as if searching his drunken mind for when he did that. Then he glanced up at him. "Why?"

He sat down beside Haymitch, putting the plate of two sandwiches between the two of them. "Not for myself, but for her. I thought that I'd never see her again. That I would wake up, alone, never knowing what became of Katniss at the horn. Those last few minutes I watched her before my vision turned to black... it was terrifying. And I was helpless to stop it or do anything." He paused again. "I might have been sedated heavily, but I could still hear everything. I heard that same desperation I felt back in the cave from you... and Effie."

Haymitch chewed on his bottom lip for a few moments before looking down into the bottle of amber liquid. "Katniss loves you, Peeta. You've had time with her, you get to see her every day. I told Effie... the only person besides you and Katniss that I have felt anything for since my Games... that I loved her. And she might have been trying to say it back, or she might have just been desperate from fear of Thread. I'll never know. And maybe I'm just not supposed to know because I'm not supposed to be happy. I don't know."

"Then work to find out. You promised you were going to find a way to get her back, right? Ever since I met you the one thing I noticed and admired most about you is the fact that you keep your promises."

Haymitch was silent for a long time before looking up at Peeta with bloodshot eyes. "Are you sure she wants to be back with us?" _With me?_, he added silently.

"I'm sure of what I heard."

Haymitch paused again before nodding, turning back to his bottle. "Alright. Then I will get her back. But you're going to have to shut up now, Mellark, or I may strangle you."

The painter just laughed a little to himself before grabbing one of the sandwiches from the plate, pushing the other toward Haymitch. Haymitch, however, ignored him and just leaned back against the cabinets, continuing to drink. Peeta wasn't surprised.


	13. Meeting

Chapter 13. Meeting

The next few days seemed to drag on at the household. When Mistral didn't visit the home the first four days, news came from one of the Bonum soldiers of the woman's death. On that same day, Gale and his family finally left the medical center and came to live in the house. While Katniss had been spending an inordinate amount of time in her and Prim's room already, she refused to leave at all once the soldier came to tell the house of Mistral's death. Still feeling guilty, she found herself unable to face any of the Victors, who had grown quite attached to the female Bonum soldier. Prim sat down on the bed beside her sister.

"I'm sorry..."

Katniss didn't say anything for a long moment before lifting her head slightly from her pillow, looking at Prim. "For what?"

"You're upset about that girl, aren't you? I'm sorry I couldn't treat Rory fast enough."

Katniss slowly sat up in bed. She tucked some hair behind her ear before pulling Prim gently into her arms. "It wasn't your fault, Prim. I had to make a choice."

"But... if I had been faster..." The blond wrapped her arms around Katniss's waist as she rested her head on her sister's shoulder. She wasn't crying, but she sounded like she was close to.

"You went as fast as you could. I would have never asked you to choose someone you hadn't even met over Rory. I know how attached you are to him. Sometimes, duck, there are choices in life and they aren't easy, but you have to make a call." Katniss stroked Prim's hair gently, furrowing her eyebrows. It didn't stop her sister from crying though. Prim pressed her forehead against Katniss's shoulder.

"W...what's going to happen now?"

Katniss closed her eyes, kissing the top of Prim's head briefly. "What's going to happen with what?"

"With everyone? Are we all j-just going to live here forever?"

Katniss paused thoughtfully before pulling back slightly to look down at her sister, taking her slight shoulders in her hands. "No one's sure yet. Everything's up in the air. Why? Are you unhappy here?"

Prims eyes went to her lap, shaking her head. "It's not that, I just... miss mom."

Katniss smiled slightly, sadly, and tucked some blond hair behind Prim's ear. "I miss her too, Prim. But she's okay. I saw her in District 13 and she says she misses you very much and not to worry."

"Really...?"

"Really. She's with Mr. Mellark and they're okay."

Prim smiled slightly before wiping her eyes. "Okay then... I'm sorry, I'm c-crying when you were the sad one..."

"Don't apologize for being upset," Katniss ruffled Prim's hair gently. "And I'm not sad."

"You looked sad."

"Maybe a little," Katniss admitted quietly, letting go of Prim's shoulders. "But I'll get over it."

Prim nodded towards her, grabbing onto her sister's hands. "I know you will. You're really strong."

Katniss smiled slightly at her sister, but it was hollow and didn't quite reach her eyes. "Thanks Prim."

Prim smiled but her eyes turned as somebody outside the room knocked. "Katniss, let's go! The President wants us now!" Johanna's voice boomed.

Katniss jumped at Johanna's unexpected voice before snapping back, "Fine, Johanna! You don't need to yell!"

The door shook slightly as the woman kicked at the wood, the sound louder than her voice was. Prim's eyes grew wide as she looked up at Katniss. "She's mean..." she whispered.

Katniss smiled slightly, pulling herself out of bed. She began braiding her hair back into its normal style before grabbing her fur coat. "No, she's like Buttercup. All bark and no bite."

Prim smiled sadly. She didn't have enough time to get the cat before leaving District 12 but she was trying her hardest to not let it upset her. She grabbed her much smaller coat the soldiers had supplied her with before grabbing on to Katniss's hand tightly. Katniss squeezed Prim's hand gently, noticing her sad smile, before leading her out the door and down the stairs.

* * *

><p>In the all too familiar court room, all the same jury members were present along with President Pyrrhus. The set up of the room, however, had drastically changed. The President no longer sat in a raised seat but now on level with his jury at a large, rounded table. On top of it was a large map spanning both Bonum territory and Panem to its south. All the Victors began to flood inside the room. When the soldiers had arrived to collect everybody, they instructed Hazelle to remain with the children. With Katniss leading the Victors, her eyes quickly landed on the map. Instantly, she was aware of what was going on. Mistral's prediction of war had to be coming true. The thirteen Victors sat in their designated seats around the map, each looking down with the same realization as Katniss.<p>

"I believe it goes without saying from the looks on your faces why I have asked you all here," President Pyrrhus began, eyeing each Victor individually.

Katniss slowly looked up from the table, turning her eyes onto the President, while Willow, with her hair cut freshly even shorter, continued to study the maps, a fresh determination in her eyes for the first time since the Games. She, in classic Willow style, bypassed any beating around the bush. "War. What do you need us to do?"

The President looked toward her before back down at the map. "This country hasn't faced war in over one hundred years and our knowledge of Panem, while more than it has been in years, is limited. We need your resources and information on each of the Districts and their roles as well as any information you can spare about the country's Capitol."

"Districts 4, 8, 9, 11, and 12 are all in rebellion." Katniss spoke up quietly. "1 and 2 are the richest Districts and, therefore, the Capitol's biggest allies and most likely to fight back. The Capitol, however, is nothing without the Districts. They produce everything the Capitol needs and, without them, the Capitol would fail."

The President listened to Katniss, his attention never leaving the girl. "Then we need to make certain these Districts stay in opposition of Panem. My jury and I need an explanation of what brought about the rebellion. Every final detail is critical."

Katniss's face slowly began to flush but she didn't say anything.

Haymitch suddenly spoke up from beside her. "Katniss did, technically." His eyes flickered to Peeta for a brief moment before looking back at the President. "And Peeta Mellark, of course," he added almost as an afterthought before explaining their relationship on television, their rebellion against the Games with the nightlock, and, of course, Katniss's role as the Mockingjay. The jury around President Pyrrhus clung to every word, many taking notes while others just committed the tale to memory.

One of the men in the jury looked towards Katniss and Peeta. "You two are the cause of the rebellion then?"

Katniss glanced slightly at Peeta before turning her eyes to the man, nodding shortly. "Unintentionally, but yes."

"Unintended or not, it is you two that both countries will now look toward," President Pyrrhus warned. Peeta stared at the President before giving a slight, almost shy, nod. "With this knowledge, we can now form a strategy on how to reach out to the rebels and have them on our side."

Katniss pressed her lips against an unspoken question trying to escape her mouth before turning her eyes to the President. "I don't think you have to worry about the rebels not being on your side."

"No, but its letting them know we exist and wanting to be on their side that's the problem."

Katniss paused for a moment, casting her gaze downward, before glancing at Beetee and Wiress. "Could you two tap into the Capitol's broadcast systems?"

Beetee gave her a smile before giving a thumbs up. "We've done it before."

"We can't just let them know we're on their side," Gale finally spoke up, his eyes going towards the President. "We need to let the other Districts know what's happening and just how horrible things are getting."

Katniss slowly glanced at Gale after a moment, her eyebrows furrowed. "The soldier with the camera that followed me in District 12. Did you plan this?"

Gale paused, looking slightly over toward Katniss, running a hand through his hair. "Are you going to be mad at me again if I say yes?"

Katniss's mouth quirked upwards slightly. "No. I was going to say you're brilliant but if you don't want the compliment..."

"Telling me what you were going to say and actually saying it are pretty much the same thing anyways," he smiled slightly and briefly before turning his attention back towards the jury and President Pyrrhus.

Katniss made a slight face at him before turning back to the jury, crossing her arms. "We could use the footage that Gale apparently prearranged of the uprising in 12. As long as we can edit out the embarrassing parts of me screaming for my sister."

"Everybody loves your sister though, Katniss," Peeta spoke up this time. "Your whole story with her is what originally won over our audience. Seeing the Capitol is putting her in danger would help out more."

Katniss faltered before pressing her lips together again, nodding briefly. "I guess. Although it might scare some Districts off, seeing the violence they were willing to inflict, even towards a small girl."

"Possibly," President Pyrrhus added in thought. "We will work out how the footage shall be edited later. Other than the attack, we'll need an address to the people. Preferably something said by both Katniss and Peeta or two separate speeches."

Katniss turned slightly to look at Peeta. "Together? I mean, I'm not good with words like you are..."

"I can help you come up with something," Peeta smiled at her, missing entirely the stare Gale gave the two. Katniss smiled softly at him and nodded, turning back to look at the jury, glad she didn't have to be the Mockingjay alone at least. Gale turned away from the two of them, biting the inside of his cheek hard. He stared down toward the map and, to keep his mind off the two of them, began to count the mountains that surrounded District 2.

"We will begin filming the speech then tomorrow. We would like for these to be broadcast as soon as possible. Mr. Beetee, Ms. Wiress, you will be led to our telecommunications base to work on tapping in to Panem's broadcasting. Ms. Everdeen and Mr. Mellark will obviously be busy for tonight, but I would like to ask a few of you to speak in private with me. Mr. Hawthorne and Mr. Abernathy, if you would, remain here after the meeting has ended."

Gale lifted his head up almost immediately from the map, somewhere between the seventh or eighth mountain top. Haymitch looked up at the President as well, but if he was surprised, it didn't show on his face. It did, however, show on Katniss's as she looked at Gale, unsure, eyebrows furrowed.

Regardless, Gale straightened up in his seat and nodded. "Yes, sir."


	14. Selfish

Chapter 14. Selfish

The meeting did not continue for much longer after the President's request. The group only went over times that the filming would take place and where. When the President called for the meeting's end, Gale's eyes went up towards Katniss briefly. Katniss's eyes, however, had rarely left the side of Gale's face since finding out that the President wished to speak to him and Haymitch privately. She locked her eyes onto his when he finally looked at her, slowly standing up, trying to communicate to him silently that he better tell her what the President wants with him later or else. Gale recognized her look, giving her a fast nod, before Lt. Zephyr arrived to lead the rest of the group out.

Katniss tore her eyes away from Gale with difficulty before following Lt. Zephyr from the room. As the entire group left, Peeta walked to Katniss's side with caution. He wasn't certain if she was still angry with him over the Effie ordeal a few days ago, but he had offered to help and intended on doing so. "Any ideas what you want to say?"

Katniss turned her head slightly to glance at Peeta, lost in thought. "What? Oh, right... you know, not really. Do you?"

He shook his head. "Not really, but I'm not too worried about it."

"You wouldn't be. Everyone always likes you, Peeta."

Peeta gave her a slight smile but shrugged. "I guess so, but it's you who's going to make the most difference. Not me."

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows, looking away. "I know I have to do this. I just don't want to embarrass myself. I just wish you could do it. You're so much more eloquent than I am."

"You won't embarrass yourself. I'll help you out best I can, okay?"

She just nodded, smiling at him slightly. "I know you will. It might be better if we just wing it, though."

Peeta's smile dropped slightly. "Oh. You think so?"

"I mean, maybe. We never planned anything we said before."

"We also never had to give a speech to rally an army of rebels..."

"If we're inspirational enough to cause several uprisings, I think we're doing something right."

"Alright... if that's how you want to try it, then sure."

She frowned slightly. "Why? You don't agree?"

He shook his head a little before giving her a smile. "It's not that. I just wanted to help out was all."

Katniss smiled at him reassuringly, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently. "Trust me, you're helping out by even doing these stupid speeches with me."

"You think?" he shrugged a little, looking at their hands.

"I know. Why are you suddenly concerned that you're not helping?"

"I just want to make sure... that you're alright is all."

Katniss squeezed his hand once again before letting go of it. "I'm always alright."

"What about at night? When you sleep...?"

She paused before sighing, turning her eyes away. "Peeta, I'm always going to have nightmares. We are all. And I need to learn how to fight them on my own."

"You don't have to," he protested, his voice almost at a whisper as he watched the group of Victors enter their crowded house.

"No, but I need to," she said softly, turning back to look at him. "I can't keep letting you and Gale fight all my battles for me. If I'm going to be the Mockingjay and help save Panem from itself, I have to save myself first."

Peeta's eyes, however, cast down almost the instant she looked at him. He nodded slowly as he rubbed the side of his forearm. "I suppose."

Katniss chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before reaching up and touching Peeta's cheek, forcing his eyes back up to her. "Peeta, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just... selfish," he sighed before pulling his head back from her hand and starting towards the door. Katniss sighed heavily before following him quickly, grabbing his wrist.

"Peeta, would you talk to me? Please?"

He stopped in the living room, keeping his gaze on the rest of the Victors as Annie and Finnick headed up the stairs and Seeder and Johanna went towards the kitchen, Chaff close behind them. He sighed a little and looked back towards Katniss. Katniss's gaze, however, never wavered from Peeta. She raised her eyebrows. "Please?" she repeated, letting go of his wrist.

"It's nothing new..."

"I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

"I guess. I just can't help but feel very... alone."

"There are, like, twenty people in this house, Peeta."

"I know that, but it's not... You're the one who's been with me the longest and through the most. I just want to stay with you but..."

She paused for a moment, slowly frowning. "Have I not been there enough for you? Oh, Peeta, I'm sorry, I've been so caught up with Haymitch and Mistral..."

He shook his head. "I know. Like I said, I'm being selfish. I'm sorry."

"It's not selfish. _I've_ been selfish. I said I would always be there for you and I haven't been. I'm sorry."

"Katniss, don't..."

"It's okay, Peeta," she stated, taking Peeta's hands in hers. "We'll go and work on the speeches or do whatever you want to do for as long as you want, okay?"

The painter pressed his lips together hard, almost regretting mentioning it. The last thing he wanted it to sound like was he was blaming Katniss or upset with her. However, he nodded a little. "Yeah... alright."

Katniss gave him an encouraging smile, feeling the guilt pile up in her chest, before pulling him upstairs to her and Prim's room.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until very late at night when Gale and Haymitch finally arrived in the living room. Gale opened the door with a smile on his face. His need to feel important and useful to the group had suddenly been fulfilled during the meeting with Bonum's President and he felt fully content with his situation for the first time in awhile. As he looked around the room, only Johanna, Chaff, and Seeder seemed to remain while the others were off in mystery locations.<p>

The hunter walked over towards the group. "Hey, have any of you seen Katniss?"

"Yeah, her and Bread went up to her bedroom a few hours ago," Johanna suddenly announced, looking towards Gale.

Haymitch, walking in after Gale, let out a low whistle at Johanna's reply, sitting next to Chaff. "That sounds dirty."

Johanna snickered with a small shrug. "It might be."

"They're working on their speeches," Gale affirmed defensively, though his eyes shot towards the steps. He knew they were going to be working on what to say together but it didn't make him feel any more comfortable with the situation.

Haymitch glanced up at the hunter, raising his eyebrows. He lifted his feet slightly, setting his dirty boots in Johanna's lap. "If you say so, kid,"

Gale gave the man a glare, all the happiness he walked in with gone. He only stood in front of the three for a few more seconds before running towards the stairs. He didn't doubt his words, but their insinuations made him feel almost obliged to double check.

Chaff laughed loudly as he watched the boy go as Johanna punched Haymitch in the ankle. "Get your shitty boots off me."

Haymitch guffawed after Gale as well but then stopped abruptly with a wince, kicking Johanna's thigh before dropping his feet back to the ground. "Bitch."

Up the flight of stairs, Gale kept up his sprint until reaching Katniss's door. He hesitated, having to stop himself from grabbing the door knob and making a scene, before simply knocking. "... Katniss?"

There was a pause before Katniss opened the door and looked up at Gale. She blinked for a moment before smiling at him slightly. "Gale. Are you okay?"

Gale's eyes went down to her briefly before looking back into the bedroom behind her. Inside, Peeta sat on her bed, a few pieces of paper and pens laying beside him. The hunter couldn't help but sigh slightly before immediately shooting his attention back to Katniss. "Oh, um, not much, what are you guys up to? Speech, right?" He wanted to kick himself in the mouth after reflecting for a brief moment how he sounded.

Katniss looked baffled for a moment before nodding slowly, looking at him like he was crazy. "Uh huh... what did Pyrrhus have to say to you and Haymitch?"

The hunter cracked a very small smile towards her, going from a slight panic to excitement at her question. "Oh, it was great! He asked Haymitch and I to help with strategies with the war!"

Katniss felt some anxiety rise in her chest until she noticed the excitement on his face. She forced a smile for him. "Just... strategy, right? Like you two won't be soldiers."

"Well, we're going to have to train with them starting tomorrow. He hasn't gone over too many specifics, but because of our knowledge of the area and he said he was impressed with my ability to think ahead with the cameras and how I handled myself in District 13..."

"Train," she repeated blankly, like it was the only part that she heard him say. "Why would you need to train?"

"I don't know, probably to get to know their tactics and soldiers better. It would be fantastic if he planned on making us Generals in the future though," Gale mused to himself, the prospect of going to war against Panem and fighting them off personally sounding more exciting than terrifying to the hunter.

"Don't say that," Katniss finally hissed at him, crossing her arms. "That would not be fantastic."

"Yes, it would," he argued, looking down to her. "I'd be able to get revenge on them for what they did."

"You can let the Bonum soldiers do that! You can help from here... with me."

"Katniss, this is what I wanted most since back in District 12 when we hunted together. If I get the chance, I'm going out there."

Katniss gripped the door knob so hard, her knuckles began to turn white. "What if I asked you not to?"

"Katniss... don't put me in that situation."

She glanced away from him for a moment before nodding. "Fine. I won't. I won't put you in any situation."

Slowly, Gale reached out, putting his hands on her cheeks. He turned her head up to look at him, planting a brief kiss on her forehead. "I'll be okay."

Katniss closed her eyes and chewed on her lip. "Not if you're dead."

"Katniss... you know me. You know this is what I've been waiting for so long to happen. You can't expect me to just sit back and watch it happen."

"I know, I just thought..." she trailed off and then looked up at him. "Do you think they would let me train too? With you and Haymitch, I mean, and then if you guys actually do leave, I could come..."

Gale shook his head, dropping his hands to her shoulders. "You can train, but you can't come with us if we are sent out. You need to be everybody's inspiration, Katniss..."

"So you're allowed to be useful and I have to stay here? Be a face but not actually do anything at all?"

Gale opened his mouth to talk before shutting it, trying to find the right words to say.

"They'll have things for you to do," Peeta spoke up from inside. Gale jumped a little, having forgotten the blond was even around. "But you'll be guarded and kept safe. We both will."

However, this didn't calm Katniss. In fact, it did nothing but enrage her further. "Oh, that's fantastic," she growled, sarcastically. "Like a little doll. Kept safe in this little house and brought out when they need me. I'm e_cstatic._"

"Katniss, that's exactly what we _all_ have to do though. Wait until we're needed," Gale tried to argue, but knew it wasn't going to work. Out of anybody, Gale knew best how stubborn she could be. He sighed. "I'll... talk to President Pyrrhus tomorrow, okay? See if we can come up with something and if you can train with us. Is that better?"

"No, it's not better. I don't need you to try and make me _feel_ important, Gale. I'm not a child," she snapped back at him, turning around abruptly and heading back over to her bed and Peeta. Gale just stared at her before throwing his hands up in frustration.

"What the hell do you want from me then? You're pissed you can't do anything, so I tell you I'll figure something out and you get pissed at me anyways!"

Katniss turned slightly to glare at him. "Because you're trying to placate me! You know perfectly well it would be a waste of time to train with you and Haymitch because I won't be allowed to do anything. Not really!"

"If you want to do something then at least let me _try_ without snapping at me!"

Katniss pressed her lips together after a moment and crossed her arms, looking away from him as if it pained her to apologize. "_Fine._ I'm sorry. I'm just... frustrated."

"I can see that. Just focus on your speech and let me figure the rest out, alright?"

She just nodded slightly and looked back at him, having the grace to look at least slightly ashamed for yelling at him. "Thanks, Gale."

He nodded slightly before looking out the hall, towards the rooms Amur and Willow stayed at. "Good luck tomorrow. I'll let you two finish up here."


	15. Hair

A/N: To everybody who follows us, I'm super sorry we didn't update yesterday! We've spoiled you all too much! But it was my fault, I had a few things to do. To make up for it though I'm not leaving my room for the next 3 days and Lily and I will most likely be writing/RPing non-stop. So yay for mega updates on the horizon!

* * *

><p>Chapter 15. Hair<p>

Gale closed the door to Katniss's room before starting down the hallway. During his and Haymitch's private meeting with the President, a lot had been discussed on what to do with the remaining Victors and those living with the group. Ultimately, President Pyrrhus wanted them all to train together in case they were needed in combat, but Gale had been a bit worried about Willow's mental health.

Once at the younger woman's door, he knocked softly. "Willow?"

"Gale?" Willow's voice, slightly surprised, replied before she opened the door, looking up at him. A hand went to the back of her neck as if searching for hair to tug at nervously, and she faltered when she found none. "Oh. Um, hey."

The hunter gave her a fast smile, but eyed her hair a bit. "Hey Willow. I just wanted to see how you were holding out..."

Willow furrowed her eyebrows a little, clearly slightly suspicious. "I'm fine... why?"

"I'm not allowed to be concerned?" he tried, taking his eyes away from her hair and back on her. "I just got back from my meeting with the President. He wants some of us to start training with the Bonum soldiers."

"So, you're not just concerned," she joked with a slight smile. "Alright. And you want me to train?"

"I want you to train if you're okay."

"I'm okay," Willow stated simply, strongly, crossing her scarred arms over her chest. "I want to."

"Alright. Can I ask you one more thing then?"

"Sure."

"I thought you did it to maneuver better in the Arena, but now that I see you did it again... Why did you hack all your hair off?"

Willow paused, furrowing her eyebrows, as if confused that he didn't understand. "Because I failed."

Her answer only baffled the hunter more. Gale blinked a few times. "Failed? Failed what?"

"In my family, every time we fail, or lose, or give into fear, we have to cut off our hair as a symbol of that. I hadn't cut it in 5 years, not since..." She trailed off, but stood up straighter. "Anyway, I gave into my fear with the snakes and failed to honor my place in our alliance as a protector. And then I failed to protect my promise to Joule when Mistral became yet another martyr for this stupid cause."

There was a moment of silence as Gale felt a brief pang of pity towards her. He had almost forgotten about her promise to Joule. "Willow... it was my fault Mistral died. If anybody failed, I did because I couldn't protect my brother. You can't blame yourself for that."

"You didn't make a promise," she stated, emotionless, almost detached. "I did. I've been weak but I won't be anymore."

"We're going into a war, Willow. People are going to die for this."

"Then I guess I'll have to save as many people as I can and possibly go bald in the process."

Gale tried to give her a slight smile, to try and lighten up the mood, but he knew it was in vain. The girl was hurting too much, was too stubborn to fully admit it, and he didn't know what he could do to help without seeming like he was taking pity on her. "Training is going to start tomorrow. Make sure you and Amur are in the living room, ready at seven."

Willow, however, didn't even try to smile back. She just nodded shortly, grasping the door, as if anxiously wanting to go back to her secluded bedroom. "I will."

Gale decided not to push the matter anymore. He simply turned away and started to walk down the hallway towards his own room. As he walked, Willow called softly after him from her doorway. "Gale."

The hunter blinked and stopped upon hearing her. He looked back. "Yeah?"

She stared at him for a moment, vulnerable, before running a hand through her short hair. "I know I never said it. But I'm sorry... about Sage."

Gale's eyebrows shot up almost instantly, shocked. "S-Sage? That was... What do you have to be sorry for?"

She suddenly found the door frame interesting as she studied it intensely instead of looking at Gale. "I... lost my younger brother five years ago to a sea snake, he was six... a little older than Sage was, I guess. And every time I looked at him, I saw Marsh. But I should have gotten over it and watched him and made sure he didn't follow you to the cornucopia. So, for that, I'm sorry."

"Brother...?" Gale blinked as he turned to her, studying her words over in his head. His eyes widened a little bit as his mind went back into the Arena, to the times he caught her looking to Sage. How, back then, he thought she was just passing him off as another weak link in the alliance. How he and Madge had mused over her snake phobia when they regrouped. Guilt suddenly replaced every emotion Gale had been feeling as he realized just how wrong everything he thought about Willow was. "Willow..."

Willow just pressed her lips together for a moment before looking up at Gale. Suddenly, her green eyes were bright and shiny with tears. She quickly glanced back away, gripping the door knob tightly. "I just... wanted you to know."

Without thinking, Gale reached forward instantly and pulled the younger girl into a hug. He usually would think she would probably push him away or hit him, but no tangible thoughts ran through the hunter's mind. Willow faltered, pausing slightly, before pressing her face against Gale's chest. She awkwardly set her hands on his back, as if unsure of what exactly to do in an embrace.

"I-I didn't know..." Gale muttered as he still held onto Willow. "I thought you were... a-at first, I thought you were just another Career. And... I d-doubted you. I'm so sorry, Willow, I never should have... and I never will again."

"I tried to be... I was supposed to be," Willow said softly into Gale's chest in order to not look at him. "So I don't know if that's a compliment."

Gale let himself crack a very slight smile as he let go of the girl. He looked down at the top of her head. "Regardless... I'll never doubt you again. I trust you... something I don't do with too many people."

Willow discreetly wiped her eyes on the edge of her sleeve before turning her eyes back up to Gale's. She smiled slightly. "Thank you... because I trust you as well. I'm only sorry my... personality originally told you differently."

He shook his head slightly. "Stop apologizing. Everything's okay now."

She nodded slightly, smiling a little more, genuinely. "And everything will be even better when we get revenge on Panem, right?"

"Of course. After that, everything will be near perfect."

"Why only near?"

"Because we need to be certain things remain peaceful after our revenge and the Capitol government falls. Once that's finished and a certainty, then it will be perfect."

Willow paused for a moment before smiling, a little sadistically. "Want to know something ironic?"

"Hm? What's that?"

"They forced us to become these... murderers, killing machines, destroying each other and ourselves for their amusement. Now we're going to be killing them instead."

"I don't think they'll find it very amusing," he laughed slightly.

"Probably not, surprisingly. But I will."

Gale smiled a little towards her before putting a hand on top of her head, ruffling up her hair slightly. "We should go to bed. Training is early tomorrow."

Willow nodded slightly, fixing her hair quickly, making her look even more like a little boy. "Right. Wouldn't want me to kick your ass tomorrow."

Gale raised an amused eyebrow at her before putting a hand on her head again, looking down at her. "I guess we'll just have to test tomorrow to see if you can reach high enough too," he joked. Willow's jaw dropped open and she narrowed her eyes, looking outraged.

"You'll be surprised to see how high I can reach, Gale Hawthorne! You'll be eating your words."

Gale blinked before laughing a little at how worked up she got. He, still chuckling, removed his hand from her head, half expecting her to have bitten it off. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he tried, but the apology sounded less sincere in between bouts of laughter.

She glared at him. "Stop laughing! It's not my fault everyone else is freakishly tall, okay? I'll climb you all like trees and bite your heads off."

"If that's what you're planning on doing at training tomorrow, I can't wait to watch that."

"You're in for a treat, then."

The hunter just laughed a little longer before shaking his head with a smile. "Good night, Willow."

She continued to glare at him, but her mouth began to quirk upwards in the corners, ruining the effect. She stepped back into her room.

"Night, Hawthorne."


	16. Both

Chapter 16. Both

Out in the snowy streets of Bonum, in front of the Justice Building, Katniss stood with Peeta, fiddling self consciously with the collar of her fur coat. While everyone else was off training, they were preparing their speeches out in the cold so, when the citizens of Panem saw their address, they would know that Bonum really existed. Peeta looked over towards Katniss, messing with his own wardrobe out of nervous habit. Regardless of how good he was at public speaking, it didn't stop the nerves from kicking in beforehand.

"It's a good thing these aren't live like our interviews were," he stated, trying to start up a conversation while the camera crew was setting up.

Katniss scoffed quietly, turning to look up slightly at Peeta. "You blew them away, even live, Peeta. It was me who giggled like a school girl."

"Regardless, at least then we had something to work with. The whole gaining sympathy from us being... lovers and all."

She quickly turned her head away from him, cheeks going red. "That was still all you. You'll do fine."

"I hope so..." he sighed as he started to mess with the golden Mockingjay bracelet on his wrist.

Katniss smiled slightly and looked up at him. "It's funny how even _you_ are nervous."

"It's not every day you provoke a rebellion." He paused. "On purpose at least."

Katniss laughed and put her hands in her pockets. "Especially while freezing to death."

"At least the District 4 Victors aren't here. We'd never hear the end of it from Finnick."

"Oh, I know. Drama queens." She paused a moment before stepping closer to Peeta, taking her hands out of her pockets and slipping them under his coat and shirt, against his stomach. "I'm freezing, so stand still."

Peeta paused a moment, his cheeks going a shade redder, but his mouth curling up to a smirk. "I guess we have no right to make fun of Finnick and the others now, huh?"

"I'm just making sure my hands don't fall off from frost bite," Katniss defended herself, slipping her hands around to his bare back. "Also- I'm making sure my teeth don't chatter so Panem can understand me. So stop complaining."

"You'll hear no complaints from me, I promise that," he laughed as he wrapped his arms around her, though his eyes looked towards the camera crew.

Katniss rested her head gently on Peeta's shoulder while the camera crew finished setting up the cameras. One, however, already had its red light blinking, pointing at them.

"It's still in effect then," Peeta whispered just quiet enough for Katniss to hear while hiding his mouth in her hood. She blinked after a moment, raising her head just enough to look up at him.

"What?"

He smiled down towards her, though it wasn't a genuine smile. The grin on his face was one of the familiar masks he had mastered during their star-crossed lovers act. The one where his mouth read happy and lovestruck, but up close, his eyes were filled with sadness and a hint of longing. He looked down at her for only a moment before planting a kiss on her forehead. "I said I think the crew is ready for us now."

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows for a moment before nodding, pulling her hands from under his coat. From his eyes and the kiss on her forehead, she got the general idea of what he was saying: even now, they had to keep up their act. Slowly, she felt the fury rise up in her chest, even as she put on her own fake smile, turning back toward the camera crew. As she turned, Peeta reached down and took her hand in his. He gave her one last smile before looking to the crew. "We're ready."

Katniss glanced at Peeta slightly before one of the crew members came over and directed them to stand further in the street, the Justice Building looming behind them. Obviously in charge of the aesthetics, he straightened Peeta's collar and pushed Katniss's braid so it was resting on her left shoulder before heading back behind the cameras. Katniss raised her eyebrows at Peeta, silently saying "doesn't this feel familiar"? Peeta gave her a slight nod as he looked back toward the cameramen for further directions.

Suddenly, the other two camera's lights began blinking red on them along with the one that had been filming them all along. A spiky haired woman behind the cameras, presumably the director, turned her eyes onto Peeta and Katniss. "I heard you prepared your own speeches, so action. Also- please feel free to be as touchy-feely as you feel like, alright, love birds?"

Peeta's eyes went on the woman as a new wave of nerves hit him like never before. He had no idea why, but this speech was, by far, the hardest thing he ever had to do and the news that he was still expected to put on this act added more shock to all the emotions he was feeling. He was always so good at public speaking, but something about this situation didn't feel comfortable. He turned slowly towards Katniss, trying to force a smile, but his hands were starting to shake. Katniss felt Peeta's hand beginning to shake in hers. She slowly looked up at him before touching his cheek gently, silently telling him it was okay. She let go of his hand and turned back to the director, her eyes suddenly on fire with the anger she was feeling.

"I don't think touchy-feely is going to work for this one."

The director looked slightly taken aback by the look in her eyes but nodded once, taking a step back from the cameras. Katniss shoved her shaking hands into her fur lined pockets, but when she spoke, her voice was clear and filled with anger, injustice, and fit the tone of the rebellions perfectly.

"To the Districts of Panem, this announcement is for you. As you can see, Peeta and I, as well as many of the other Victors, are safe here in Bonum, a country to the north that Panem has been hiding from us for years. In Panem, we're broken. We've fallen victim to unjust Peacekeepers, the barbaric Hunger Games, and a corrupt government. We're all hungry, poor, and sick of sending our children to their deaths. We're broken, but together, we can become whole again. We need to be fearless and strong, united and brave. We need to stand up and let the Capitol know, let everyone know, we're unbreakable and we won't be your punching bag anymore. Bonum is fighting back, helping us fight back. To the Districts in rebellion, don't let that fire caused by injustice die down. And to those on the brink, don't succumb to the fear I know you're all feeling. Fight back and be strong. We're on your side and, right now, we need you to be on ours as well. And, to the Capitol, fire is catching. And if we burn, you burn with us."

As Katniss spoke, Peeta felt his nerves almost vanish. He looked towards Katniss with a genuine smile as she spoke before his eyes went back towards the cameras and their crew, gauging their reactions to her words first. The director was staring at Katniss with a look of almost reverence, hanging on her every word, while the man who had fixed their clothing eye's were glassy. Katniss pressed her lips together before taking Peeta's hand again, snapping at the director. "Touchy-feely enough for you?"

Peeta couldn't help but give a small chuckle at that. He squeezed her hand in his, smiling at her. "You did fantastic."

Katniss's intimidating face slowly melted as she turned her eyes back to Peeta's. She smiled back at him, hesitantly. "Not too forceful?"

The director just turned off the cameras. "No. Perfect. The President will be pleased."

"Looks like I don't even need to talk," Peeta smiled a little more at Katniss, seeing the red light finally off.

"You seemed nervous... I thought it would be okay?" Katniss nervously glanced at him, taking her bottom lip into her mouth.

"Oh no, it's perfect. I don't know what I was so nervous about though, honestly..."

She released her bottom lip from her teeth and smiled a little, relaxing. "I don't either."

He glanced over his shoulder briefly towards the camera crew again and director. His eyes narrowed slightly towards the woman, but shook his head. "I can't believe they still want us to act like that though..."

The camera crew slowly began packing up their things, not paying attention to Peeta or Katniss anymore. Katniss glanced at them as well before looking back up at blond boy. "Really? You can't?"

"I mean... I didn't think it would matter anymore I guess. That or I just wasn't used to it. It's been awhile since we had to act like that."

"We're not doing it anymore. I don't care what they want. It hurts to pretend."

"Yeah... Gale probably wouldn't appreciate it either," Peeta shrugged as he began to fiddle with his bracelet again, turning his eyes away from her.

Katniss faltered slightly, looking at him for a long moment. "Peeta..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it to sound like that." His eyes never left the bracelet.

"Yes, you did. I don't know what you want me to do."

"I... I don't know, I'm sorry Katniss." He let go of the bracelet and looked off to the side, regretting saying anything. "Let's just head back to the house. I'm sure they'll all be back from training soon."

"Yeah, okay." She simply clenched her jaw tightly, angrily, before nodding and heading back to the Victor's house. Peeta followed behind her, but kept his distance now that he made her upset. The nerves, the comment, everything about the situation and how he reacted just made Peeta feel more and more uncomfortable. He didn't feel like he was acting normal, like he usually would, but couldn't pinpoint exactly what was causing it.

As the two walked through the snow, Peeta quietly began to reflect on everything. All the events of the past few months ran threw his mind, as if he was trying to search his memories for something or some things in specific. He went back to when his mother laid dead in her bedroom, to all the nights Katniss spent with him, and ended at the recent conversation in the kitchen with Haymitch.

_"Katniss loves you, Peeta." _Haymitch's words rang through his ears, but he shook them away. He just knew it was a lie. All the times she pushed away from him for Gale and the time she flat out declared they were nothing but friends at the Tribute's Tour...

With the house in sight, Peeta stopped at the start of the block. His eyes were fixed on the snow on his boots from walking, never even daring to glance up towards Katniss. He knew now why he acted how he did at the filming and why he's been acting so lonesome at the house. He was only strong for the cameras because of _her. _He was only able to talk to Panem for _her _sake. Without her, he was weak, useless, and empty.

Katniss, on the other hand, was fuming. Through everything, without fail, she could count on Peeta to be understanding. He had never made a comment like that toward her. She wasn't expecting it and, mainly, she didn't understand it. Sure, Gale was never afraid to speak his mind, but Peeta? She had to wrestle every emotion, every thought, out from him lately. She cared about him, worried about him constantly, and yes, even loved him, although not in the way she loved and lusted for Gale. Even so, that didn't make the love she felt for Peeta irrelevant.

She walked a few more steps before noticing that she didn't hear the loud crunch of Peeta's boots behind her in the snow. She slowly stopped and turned back to look at him, furrowing her eyebrows. "Peeta?"

"Go on ahead without me." His voice was empty and emotionless, almost ashamed. Without waiting for her to reply, he shoved his hands in his pockets and started to walk in the opposite direction. He wasn't sure where exactly he was going, he just knew he had to keep walking.

"Peeta, where are you going?" Katniss demanded, obviously not going to listen to him. She followed after him quickly. "It's freezing. You're going to get sick."

"I'll be fine. I said go without me," he replied, his back still to her though as he walked.

"No!" she growled, catching up and grabbing his hand.

Twice today Peeta decided to act without thinking. The first was with his comment about Gale and the second was now. The moment he felt her grab his hand, the painter turned around to face Katniss and, without warning, pressed his lips against hers.

There was a hint of desperation, but it wasn't of a lustful nature. It wasn't even the kiss itself he was so desperate for, but her reaction. He needed some sort of proof that he was still important, not to the rebellion or Panem, but to Katniss herself. Nothing else mattered.

Katniss gasped slightly in surprise before raising her hands to his chest to shove him away. Instead of pushing him away, however, her fingers curled into his coat and she kissed him back with the same amount of desperation, unsure of why she was even doing it.

The kiss didn't last very long after that. Peeta pulled away only a few seconds after her reaction, his mind racing and eyes looking down towards her. Katniss blinked her eyes open and looked up at him for a moment before her eyes began to glass over. She suddenly let out a sob and shoved his shoulder hard. "Damnit, Peeta!"

Peeta stumbled back, hitting the ground mostly due to the sudden movements on the icy sidewalk. He stared up at her from the concrete, eyes a little wide. "Katniss, I..."

Katniss ignored his fall and just covered her face for a moment before pushing some hair that had escaped her braid off her cold cheeks, sobbing again, feeling like she was on the verge of another panic attack. "Why would you do that? I can't... I can't choose and you would do that? You're so stupid! So heartless, Peeta! Do you have any idea how hard this is for me?"

However, at this point, Peeta was nearing his breaking point as well. He wasn't as anxious or angry as Katniss was, but he felt more and more empty and careless. "And it isn't for me?" he replied flatly before getting up from the cold snow. "You say you can't choose and you freak out when I kiss you... Have you, honestly, never kissed Gale then once since the 74th Games? Have you ever flipped out at him like this before?"

Katniss's face turned redder, but it wasn't from the cold this time. She narrowed her eyes. "That's different! It was just me and Gale! You and I hadn't kissed since the cave!"

"Don't pretend you haven't decided if you already have, Katniss. And don't call me heartless when I've tried to be there for you more than anybody else."

Katniss let out a laugh, mocking and bitter. "Be there for me? I've been there for YOU, Peeta! You've been avoiding me and getting progressively meaner for weeks! The one thing I could always count on you for was to be understanding, to be nice, and to always care about me, but lately, you haven't been here _at all._ You, of all people, should understand that I can't help who I love and, if it's both of you, it's _not_ my fault!"

Peeta bit his lip hard, staring at her with raised eyebrows. He wasn't angry at what she said, nor did he even disagree with her. He seemed more surprised than anything. "... is it both of us?"

"Did I stutter?" Katniss snapped, offended, crossing her arms. "My mind is in a constant jumble and I don't know how to feel and I don't need you judging me."

"... I didn't think you loved me at all," he admitted, though the emptiness in his voice was gone and was replaced with hopefulness yet a hint of sadness.

She paused, staring at him for a moment, before dropping her arms back to her sides, the anger disappearing from her face. "Why would you think that?"

"After... well, on the Tribute's Tour, you said we were just friends... And for awhile after that, it seemed like you didn't want anything to do with me..."

"I don't want to upset Gale," she admitted quietly. "I've always loved him, always thought we would get married. He's my best friend, but he has a temper and he's insecure. I can't tell him anything like this, he wouldn't understand. And you and I are just friends. We hadn't... done anything romantic until you just pulled that stupid kiss. It's not like I was lying."

"So then you really never felt anything during any the times we kissed at the Games?"

"... I never said that."

"Did you...?"

"After...," she faltered and then cleared her throat, her cheeks going pink again. "After I came back from the feast. I wanted to tell you that I didn't want you to die, that I didn't want to lose you. And then you kissed me and... it was the first one where I wanted a second one."

Peeta stared at her long and hard before taking a step closer. "You promise? This isn't an act or anything... you love both me and Gale. That's all real?"

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows. "Of course it's real."

The painter slowly cracked a smile before grabbing a hold of her hand again, cautiously. "Then... I'm sorry for how I've been acting, I'd lost hope. Take as much time as you need, Katniss, and I'll try to be there more for you. Okay?"

She looked at him, searchingly, for a few moments before smiling back. "Thanks Peeta."


	17. Execution

17. Execution

After finally reaching the house, Peeta opened the door. Katniss was still holding Peeta's hand, excited to get out of the snow at his side. The painter went to step out of the way to let Katniss in first, but instead, was immediately greeted by Annie. The dark haired girl ran from the living room and dashed directly into Peeta's chest, grasping onto his shirt.

"A-Annie?" Peeta blinked, letting go of Katniss's hand in surprise. At first, he thought she had mistaken him for Finnick, but when she started yanking at his coat collar, he could tell something was wrong.

Katniss jumped slightly in surprise before glancing at Annie, furrowing her eyebrows. She set a hand on her shoulder. "Annie, what's wrong?"

Annie's head immediately turned toward Katniss when she touched her. Letting go with one hand from Peeta's collar, she quickly grasped Katniss's arm and started to pull at her as well, as if trying to drag the two of them inside. Whatever she was trying to convey seemed urgent and it clearly scared the dark haired girl. Katniss frowned, glancing at Peeta for a moment, before the two allowed themselves to be pulled into the house. Katniss kept her eyes on the girl. "Annie..."

"_The two were discovered in a household in District 8, hiding out in a rebel family's basement_," a familiar voice blared from the television in the living room as Annie pulled the two as hard as she could. Inside, Hazelle sat with her youngest three children and Prim at her side. The television was on as Peacekeeper Thread spoke, a smirk on his face and Effie at his side. Katniss tore her eyes away from Annie and glanced at her sister and Gale's family before finally looking at the television. She slowly walked over to get a better look at it.

"What's going on?"

The instant the little sister heard her voice, Prim jumped from her seat on the couch and dashed toward Katniss. Tears were streaming down the blond girl's cheeks as she dove at her, hiding her face in her older sister's stomach. "K-Katniss... t-they..."

Katniss immediately wrapped an arm around her sister, the other going straight for her hair, stroking it. She instantly felt the panic beginning to stir low in her stomach. "Prim? Prim, what is it?"

"T-they... found them..." she forced out as her hug grew tighter around her sister's waist, her sobs growing louder.

"They found who?" Katniss nearly yelled and then caught herself. Not wanting to upset her sister further, she closed her eyes and forced her voice to lower. "They found who, Prim?"

"_The execution will__ be held in one hour_," Thread continued, Prim wincing at his voice. "_It is mandatory viewing for all Panem citizens_."

Katniss paused, forcing her eyes back to the screen, having a feeling she knew who they found, that she had known since she walked through that door. Her hand tightened in Prim's shirt. Her little sister just continued to cry louder into Katniss's stomach. "M-m...Mo..."

"Mom. And Mr. Mellark." Katniss said quietly, dangerously, turning her eyes toward Peeta.

Peeta's eyes never left the television screen. Any happiness he had before walking into the house had quickly vanished as he hardly even noticed Katniss or the dark haired Annie staring up at him. Still holding onto his coat collar, Annie loosened her grip on his clothing before giving him a brief hug, seeing the pain in the painter's eyes. Peeta didn't react to her touch as he watched Thread and Effie's faces disappear on the screen. Katniss pressed her lips together, not feeling anything but pure, blind rage. She kneeled down in front of her little sister, taking the blond's arms in her hands and kissing her forehead. "Stay here with Hazelle, okay? I'll be back, I promise. I have to take care of something." She glanced up at Gale's mother after a second, eyes hard. "If I'm not back in time, but I should be, make sure that television is off."

"W-where... are you going?" Prim choked out, trying to wipe her eyes clean but new tears replaced the old too fast to dry.

Katniss stood up, setting a hand on Prim's hair gently. "I have to see Wiress and Beetee, make sure they have hacked into the Capitol's broadcast system, and that something runs a little sooner than was intended."

That immediately grabbed Peeta's attention. He forced his eyes away from the black screen and towards her as Annie backed away from him. "The speech...?"

Katniss turned her eyes onto Peeta, nodding slightly. "Thread isn't winning this one. No one's going to see..."

He nodded at her. "We should ask one of the soldiers where the telecommuncations building is. Or try to talk to President Pyrrhus personally."

She nodded shortly, pulling Prim gently off of her stomach. She kissed the top of the blond girl's head before heading back over to Peeta. "A soldier would probably be easier."

"Then we need to hurry. Come on."

Katniss nodded again before looking back at Prim, feeling bad for leaving her at such a time. "I'll be back, Prim. Hold on," she smiled at her hollowly, trying to be encouraging, before grabbing the front of Peeta's coat and dragging him back out into the snow. The painter followed closely behind her, not even bothering to shut the door behind them.

She quickly ran down the snowy street, not even looking at Peeta, feeling anxiety rush through her, mixing with her anger. She headed to the Capitol Justice Building, knowing there were always soldiers in that area. Outside and all around the perimeter, soldiers were starting to walk toward the building. Peeta assumed they had just finished training and were heading to their usual positions. Katniss quickly sprinted to the closest one.

After a very brief conversation, the woman soldier Katniss had stopped pointed them off in the direction to a neighboring building not far at all from the Capitol Building.

Katniss glanced over at the building and nodded shortly. "Thank you," she panted before running over to the indicated building, Peeta at her side. The two ran towards what had to be the largest building in the Capitol. The structure had countless windows and a satellite dish at the top as well as a few long, metal rods on its rooftop. They quickly ran up to the front door and inside as fast as they could.

Swiftly, Katniss looked around, disappointed. "Oh, this building's huge!"

"Come on, there's gotta be someone that can point us in the right direction," Peeta encouraged, grabbing her hand. Upon seeing a desk off in the distance that looked like a secretary's station, he ran towards her. Peeta was just as worked up at Katniss was, almost like if they hurried, what they were trying to accomplish would save his father. He decided he'd deal with the truth of the matter later, when everything was over. Katniss quickly ran over to the secretary's station next to Peeta, feeling a similar way to how he did. Not necessarily that they could save them, but that she'd deal with the emotional turmoil inside her later, once their parents were safely out of the public eye of Panem.

She set her free hand heavily on the desk. "Excuse me, do you happen to know where the Panem citizens are working?"

"Panem?" the pale brunette woman looked up from her computer screen. "Oh! Ms. Everdeen, Mr. Mellark. Yes, your comrades are on the top floor but they're in the middle of a very important project."

"I'm sorry, but it's urgent."

"Urgent? What-?"

"I'm sorry, but it's too urgent for us to stay and explain," Peeta interrupted before turning towards one of the elevators of the large skyscraper building. Still holding Katniss's hand, he rushed off toward them as one of the double doors opened to let an employee out. Katniss squeaked slightly before being pulled after Peeta. They passed the employee and ran quickly into the elevator, hitting the button for the top floor. The doors closed before the woman could even finish calling out to them or could hear what they said.

Because of the size of the building, the elevator ride to the top floor took nearly ten minutes, which felt like hours to the two inside. The instant the doors were opened, Peeta grasped Katniss's hand again with a squeeze before darting into the large room.

All around the walls and room were massive television screens and stations with a dashboard of buttons and controls. Some were playing a variety of television shows with personnel manning every station. Katniss followed after Peeta quickly, scanning the room quickly, before spotting Wiress and Beetee. At the very back station stood Beetee and Wiress. Beetee was reading what looked to be a manual while instructing Wiress to test various controls he was researching.

She and Peeta quickly ran over to them. "Beetee! Wiress!"

"Hm?" the man looked up from his manual towards the two, as a few other employees looked from their stations as well at the commotion. "Katniss? Peeta? What are you two doing here?"

Katniss stopped in front of them with Peeta, both of them panting slightly. "How far along are you on the Capitol broadcast system?"

The man cracked a smile before looking up at the large screen at his station, pushing his glasses up a little higher on his face. "That is what we were just working on. With the satellite on the Tele-Comm Building's roof, we've been able to pick up signals from all over the world. You'd be surprised just how many other countries there are out there, Katniss. Really, it's thrilling and a shame that we know so little about them."

"That's great, Beetee, but can you get in within the next forty minutes?"

The grin and sense of wonder on the man's face quickly vanished and skewed into a look of confusion. "Forty minutes? I'm not certain... Wiress?"

Wiress glanced back at the book in Beetee's hands before shrugging slightly, looking back up at them. "Try?"

"I suppose it's the only way we can find out for certain. But why? And what are we to broadcast?"

Katniss glanced away from Wiress and at Beetee. "Our speech from earlier. I know it's probably not done being edited, but our parents are to be executed in... well, 38 minutes now, and I want it to be played over that."

"Your... parents?" Beetee frowned instantly. He turned over towards Wiress, pausing for a moment. "Wiress, do your best here without me for now at finishing up our interception. I need to go fetch the footage and hope it's finished."

Wiress nodded shortly before setting the manual she was holding on the table and going over to the console, messing with the wires.

Beetee stood up immediately, turning to Katniss. "We'll try our best here, but it's going to be close."

Katniss nodded slightly, gripping Peeta's hand so tightly, she was probably cutting off circulation. "I just want you to try your hardest. Please."

He nodded. "We will. The two of you should head back to the house. You'll know if we were able to get it done in time."

Katniss pressed her lips together and nodded. "Thanks, Beetee." She turned back to Peeta slightly before heading back to the elevator.

As they walked, Peeta remained mostly quiet, gripping her hand tightly. Once they reached the elevator, he let out a silent sigh. "They couldn't run forever..."

"It'll be okay, Peeta," was all Katniss replied, voice quiet and emotionless. She stared at the elevator doors as they closed in front of them. "There's nothing we c... could have done."

* * *

><p>Back at the house, everybody had returned and nearly all of them were in the living room. Annie had greeted Finnick in the same, urgent manner she had Peeta and Katniss, but because she couldn't find the words, Seeder had to explain the situation to them.<p>

By the time Peeta pushed open the door, there were only five minutes left until the broadcast. The painter decided against letting Katniss walk in first, letting everybody's eyes fall on him with pity first. But Katniss quickly darted around Peeta, walking straight over to Prim and pulling the small girl back into her arms, ignoring everyone's eyes and not saying a word.

Prim hugged her older sister back, though her grip was weakened a bit. All the crying she had done over the past hour had taken its toll on her young body to the point where she couldn't cry anymore if she tried. She rested her head on her sister's stomach, but her eyes landed on Gale who stood near his family.

"No... nobody's going to be able... to shoot down any more ropes with arrows, are they?"

Gale looked over towards the two sisters before turning his gaze away, almost guilty like. "I'm sorry... not this time, Prim..."

Katniss glanced at Gale for a brief second, but just looked down at Prim. She stroked the girl's blond hair back carefully. "There's nothing anyone could have done, Prim. You know I would have if I could. It was too late. But hopefully no one will see it now."

This didn't seem to make the younger sister feel any better at all. "J-just because we can't see it... doesn't mean it doesn't happen, Katniss..."

"Do you think Mom would have wanted all of Panem's eyes on her while she died? People die every day, Prim, and the most we can do is make sure it's not publicized for entertainment," Katniss said before she could stop herself. She knew it was harsh, cruel even, but her anger was beginning to be laced with depression and she couldn't find it in herself to care. Prim tried her hardest to form words, but it just wasn't happening. Her throat was dry and eyes were sore. The girl didn't feel like talking anymore and wasn't sure even if she could.

Regardless of all this, the television flickered for a brief moment before the Panem emblem appeared on the television screen. Katniss pressed her lips together tightly and turned Prim's face away from the television, just in case.


	18. Gone

Chapter 18. Gone

_"Today, all of Panem will bare witness to the execution of two traitors from our Districts,_" Thread's voice came but his body was not seen on the screen. Instead, an all too familiar set up had been arranged identical to the execution that was supposed to be held in District 12. Only, this time, the hanging post had two nooses.

Led by men with black capes, both traitors began their walk towards the nooses. The background suggested that, this time, the hanging was held in a secluded area with no audience or chance for interruption.

"_Iris Everdeen, for crimes against Panem including the assassination of President Snow, and Wheet Mellark, for crimes against Panem including the aid in the assassination. Both are to be sentenced, as proclaimed by President Coin of Panem, to death by hanging._"

Katniss suddenly turned slightly, pressing Prim's head tightly against her stomach. She kept her eyes focused on the television, anxiously, hoping that Beetee and Wiress had gotten through. While Peeta's eyes also never left the television, he stepped over towards Katniss. Slowly, he slid a shaky hand onto her shoulder. Even now, with his father right up there with her mother, he was trying his hardest to comfort her.

On the screen, both Iris and Wheet were placed in position. As the nooses were placed around their necks, Wheet glanced over towards Iris almost guiltily. The woman caught sight of his gaze and turned her attention towards him. She gave him a very small, sad smile before saying something that the audio of the camera couldn't pick up. By the movements of her mouth and the improvements to the picture quality Beetee and Wiress had managed to add to the television, it almost looked like she mouthed 'thank you.'

One of the hooded men walked towards the side of the hanging pole, grasping onto the lever that would release the trap doors beneath them.

Katniss slowly slid her hand up to hold Peeta's shaky one on her shoulder. She fought the urge to hide her face in his chest and instead, squeezed the baker's son's hand once, comfortingly, staring at her mother on the screen.

_"As per or-order by the... Pres...ident, your li..." _Thread's announcement suddenly warped in and out, as if the audio was failing on the microphones. Peeta's eyes widened a little as his hand stopped shaking and he gripped Katniss's shoulder tightly.

Thread's voice continued to fade in and out while another stream of audio seemed to try and battle it for dominance. Vague words faded in and out on the screen. "_Barbaric... c..corrupt government... sick of... s-sending... children..."_

Just as the lever was pulled on the screen, the television flashed white until the image of Peeta and Katniss faded onto the screen, in their coats, standing inside of Bonum.

_"To the Districts of Panem, this announcement is for you."_

Katniss let out a heavy sigh, releasing both Peeta's hand and Prim's head, almost collapsing in relief. "Oh, thank you, Wiress and Beetee."

Prim lifted her head up and stared towards the screen as Katniss's speech continued. Mixed with footage from both Bonum and District 12, the broadcast went on uninterrupted. It didn't matter to the younger sister, however. Whether she saw it or not, she knew what happened, and it didn't make it hurt less. She would never see her mother again. Slowly, Prim fell to her knees and covered her face in her hands, starting to cry again even though she thought she had no tears left.

Katniss tore her eyes from the screen and looked down at her grieving little sister. Her eyebrows furrowed suddenly. She had been trying to protect her mother, but mainly, this had all been for Prim, like the majority of things she did. She didn't want Prim to have to watch their mother die. Suddenly, it occurred to her that, no matter what she did, she couldn't protect Prim from this pain. Katniss just slowly sat down next to her sister and pressed her cheek against the blond's shoulder, wrapping an arm around her tightly and not saying a word because, really, there were no words to say. Nothing would ever make this better.

Prim immediately clung to her sister. She wrapped her arms around Katniss and turned her head to hide in her older sister's shoulder. The shoulder of the only family she had left. Katniss just held one of the last people she had left in the world and pressed a kiss to her temple. She pressed her head against the side of her sister's, but she was mainly looking helplessly at Gale, unsure of how much longer she could continue being strong for the small blond.

Gale slowly put down the five year old Posy cradled in his arms before walking over to Katniss and Prim. He knelt down beside the two, sensing the emotions behind Katniss's eyes. He turned towards Prim specifically, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Come on, Prim, don't cry," he tried to comfort like he would his younger siblings. "You've got to stay strong."

"B-but.. Mom and... Lady and B-Buttercup and M-Madge... e-everyone's g-gone..."

Gale froze on the spot at hearing Madge's name, but tried his hardest to push the feeling away. That was twice in the past twenty-four hours he was reminded of the Games, but he had to stay strong and help Katniss. "Everybody's not gone, Prim. We're all still here and we're going to protect you and each other as best we can, okay?"

Katniss glanced at Gale thankfully before touching the back of Prim's hair gently, forcing her voice to stay low to keep it from shaking. "Prim, you've got me, Gale, Rory, and Peeta. We all love you and you know I'll never leave you, duck."

"I-I guess..." she sniffled as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "...i-it still hurts and I'm still sad."

"I know, Prim. We're all sad," she paused for a moment before stroking Prim's hair once again. "How about you go upstairs and take a nap, hm?"

Prim sniffled a few more times but slowly nodded towards Katniss. "O-okay... will you b-be up soon?"

Katniss nodded slightly, dropping her hand from Prim's head and grabbing the blond's hand instead, squeezing it quickly. "Of course."

Prim nodded her head again, her eyes on her feet before standing and dashing up the stairs. Gale watched her run off with a frown before turning back to Katniss. Katniss watched her disappear before rubbing her eyes quietly, her comforting smile instantly fading.

Willow cleared her throat in the sudden awkward silence. "That was a really good speech, Katniss."

Katniss glanced at her slightly, getting to her feet. "Thanks, Willow. I think I'm going to... take a walk outside, so."

"Do you want company?" Gale asked as he got up to his feet, worried.

Katniss faltered, glancing at him, torn. She wanted him to come but didn't want to embarrass herself when the emotional breakdown decided to show up. "I... think I'll be okay. Thanks though."

"Are you sure?"

Katniss looked at him again before sighing, unable to say no to him twice. "I don't care," she said quietly before walking for the door.

Gale blinked and hesitated for only a minute, contemplating what he should do. Ultimately, his worry outweighed his logic as he followed after her. As he walked, he noticed that Peeta had long since left the room sometime during the entire ordeal with Prim. He felt slight pity towards the boy but continued after Katniss.

Katniss stepped outside, not having noticed Peeta, having been preoccupied with Prim and now herself. She slowly began walking down to the street, comforted by the fact that Gale had followed her, but not knowing what to say. She felt drained, realizing she was now officially a real orphan and now, instead of taking care of Prim because her mother wasn't around mentally or physically, she truly had to take care of her little sister and make sure Prim thought Katniss wasn't affected by any of this. Gale sped his walk slightly until he was standing side by side with Katniss. He reached over with caution before gently wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He didn't want to ask if she was okay, the answer was obvious. He just wanted to let her know he was there whenever she was ready to talk.

As soon as Gale touched her, she curled against him like Posy or Prim would, setting her head against his chest. She curled her hands in his shirt but didn't cry. "I don't know what... what to do."

"Do whatever comes naturally. It's all you can do at the moment...If you want to cry, then cry. If you need to scream, go ahead. If you need anything from me, just ask. I'll do whatever you want."

She smiled slightly and looked up at him. "I don't think I can scream, Gale. We're outside."

"Sure you can. If anybody says anything, you can just scream some more, just specifically at them."

"Then they'll take me off to a mental hospital or something." Katniss slowly let go of Gale and just sat on the curb of the street, right in the snow.

"I wouldn't let them," he promised as he sat down beside her, making a face at the cold snow under him but ignoring it.

"Thanks," she said quietly before pressing her face against her knees. She sat there for a few brief moments before letting out a soft, heart wrenching sob. Gale turned his full attention on her almost immediately after hearing her. Biting the inside of his cheek, he reached a hand out and began to run it up and down her back, lightly.

As soon as he touched her, her sobs turned almost frantic. She held the back of her head, grasping her braid, thinking of all those months ago when her mother braided it for the Reaping. It suddenly seemed like eons ago and she sat up quickly, pressing her face again the side of Gale's arm as if he was going to make the memories disappear. "I-I can't d-do this, G-Gale."

Gale frowned and shut his eyes as he pulled Katniss in closer, both his arms making their way around her shoulders. He placed a hand on the back of her head while the other went back to rubbing her back softly, trying to calm her as best he could. However, he knew it would take awhile. She needed to let this out. "You're strong, Catnip. You'll be okay, and even if you don't think you're strong enough to make it through alone, I'll be here."

Katniss bit her tongue so hard she tasted blood, trying to keep in a reply that he won't be here if he becomes a General. Instead she just nodded shakily against him, gripping his shirt tightly in her hands. "I-It's hard... being st-strong for both P-Peeta and P-Prim. I-I don't know... know if I can d-do it."

"If you need help, all you need to do is ask. You're not the only one in the house, Katniss. They're all more than willing to help out, I guarantee it. I know I am."

She nodded a little again, taking a few deep breaths, trying to calm down. "I... I know. I just... I can't ask that..."

Gale leaned in, planting a small kiss on her forehead. "Then I'll have to be more observant so you don't have to ask."

Katniss rolled her eyes slightly before pressing her hands against her face. "You're... you're already too observant, G-Gale."

He furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"You... followed me out here. No one else would have."

"That doesn't make me observant; that just means I know you better than most people here."

"Better than anyone here," Katniss corrected quietly, kissing his cheek softly. "So, thanks."

He smiled down at her, nodding. "No reason to thank me really for that, but I'll take the kiss."

Her cheeks turned pink but she pretended it was from the cold, pulling her hood up over her head. She gave him a serious look, but it was marred by her slight smile. "I love you, Gale. So, that means you have to be the daddy to my mommy with Peeta and Prim, okay?"

Gale paused at that, his eyebrows raising a little. He slowly smiled before letting out a small laugh. "Katniss Everdeen, asking me to play the role of parent with her. Never thought I'd ever hear that one. But of course I will."

"Good, because that's as close to 'parent' as you're going to get with me. It's not my fault I was... _forced_ into this situation."

"I know, I'm fine with that." The hunter pulled her up a bit, not wanting her to get cold from sitting in the snow for too long, and set her on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her again, holding her close against his chest. "I love you too, Katniss."

Katniss slipped her hands under the back of his coat and shirt, reminiscent to the way she had done the same to Peeta earlier that day. She blushed slightly and pressed her face against the side of his neck, searching for warmth. "You're too good to me, Gale."


	19. Unexpected

A/N: So Lily found the PERFECT theme song to Haymitch in our RP. "Nothing (Drinking Version)" by The Script. So, based off this, we created a Youtube playlist! We'll be adding new songs as we find them. If you wanna listen, go to tinyurl(dot)com/xylianaplaylist.

* * *

><p>Chapter 19. Unexpected<p>

Over the next three months, Katniss had barely been able to breathe. Between Prim and Peeta, she was constantly comforting someone. She was too proud to ask for help and, although Gale had helped out a lot, he and the majority of the Victors were often busy with training so she tried not to bother him on the rare occasions when he was at the house.

She, however, had found two ways to cope with the stress of basically being a seventeen year old mom and the death of her own mother: lots and lots of showers and Haymitch's booze.

The majority of the time, she turned on one of the showers in the house as scalding hot as she could, curled up on tile floor, letting the water turn her skin bright red, and finally allowed herself to let out the sobs of frustration and depression that she couldn't let out around the two blonds or the rest of the house, for fear of upsetting them or appearing weak. She also discovered that Haymitch's cooking sherry as well as his vodka, in moderation, so she didn't get sloppy and yell at Gale again, helped to calm her nerves, made her feel more confident, and, usually, made her happier. With a fuzzy head, it was hard to focus on the emotions constantly in turmoil and that was just the way she liked it.

On this day, however, she was finally starting to feel a little better. She hadn't had a drop of Haymitch's alcohol or a shower as she sat beside Finnick and Annie in the kitchen of the house, enjoying Seeder's breakfast of eggs and biscuits. Across the table, Johanna sat in her soldier uniform and coat, complaining loudly to Chaff and Haymitch at her right about the training the group had been going through. Annie rested her head against Finnick's shoulder but watched Johanna, almost amused.

"No breaks, no days off, nothing! If I didn't know better, I'd say they were trying to kill us!"

Chaff shook his head slightly at her, taking a long drink from the bottle in his good hand. "I've been waiting for dis bitch storm to happen..."

Johanna shot him a glare as her foot swiftly met with the side of the man's shin. From a mix of shock and pain, Chaff winced and spat a misty shower of alcohol onto the table. "Ah! Christ, Johanna!"

Finnick wrapped his arm tightly around Annie, pulling her away from the mist of alcohol spraying across the table with remarkable agility. Katniss, however, winced slightly, wiping the spray of alcohol off her cheek. "Chaff!"

Haymitch chuckled and scratched the back of his head, setting his own bottle on the table. "Just let her complain, Chaff. Disagreeing with Johanna only gets you one thing: pain."

"Little late of a warning dere, Herminia," Chaff groaned as he rubbed his leg with his stump, ignoring Katniss. Johanna snickered at the nickname before taking Chaff's bottle. Since finding morphling was near impossible in Bonum, Johanna had gotten in the habit of drinking on an almost daily basis. She took a very long swig of the bottle, granting a glare from Chaff who had yet to even technically start on the liquid.

"Stop calling me that! I'm dressing normal again!" Haymitch snapped, punching Chaff hard in his stump of an arm.

As the three continued, Prim rushed into the house from outside. Her cheeks were red from the cold, but the group overall was growing accustomed to the climate. Gale wasn't too far behind the girl, carrying a crying Posy into the living room from outside. Prim ran straight for the sink as Gale put the little girl down softly on the couch. Katniss glanced away from Johanna, Chaff, and Haymitch when the door opened. She quickly stood up and ran over to Prim. "What happened?"

The blond little sister sighed heavily, obviously annoyed. "Stupid Rory and Vick weren't paying attention and accidentally knocked Posy down. It's just a scraped knee, but you think they'd be more careful, especially Rory!" she began to complain as she dampened a washrag to clear the five year old's brush burn. Overall, Prim seemed to be coping well after everything that happened. With Rory, Vick, and Posy, she had been playing outside in the snow a lot more which served as a perfect distraction. Occasionally, she still cried at night though.

"Oh, they didn't mean to, Prim. They're stupid boys," Katniss touched the top of the blond's head gently, desperate to make sure she didn't stress out over anything, no matter how small, because she was afraid it would set off another crying attack.

"You think they'd be more careful. She's only five," Prim mumbled with a sigh before running over to Gale and Posy.

The little girl's sobs had gotten significantly quieter but her eyes were still filled with tears and bottom lip quivering. She suddenly began to cry louder again when Rory and Vick walked through the front door, Hazelle behind them. Posy grabbed one of the couch pillows and tried to throw it hard at one of her brothers, but missed them both entirely. "M-mean!"

"Posy, don't throw things. They didn't mean to," Gale sighed, putting a hand on the little girl's head as Prim began to clean the blood on the little girl's knee.

Katniss quietly followed Prim into the living room, frowning at her sister's reaction. The blond seemed so put out, down, and depressed, and for the first time, Katniss began to think that maybe she couldn't fix her this time. She forced a smile onto her face, looking at Posy. She put her hand over Gale's on the small girl's head. "Hey, Posy, how about a Popsicle, huh? I bought some in town yesterday and I _was _going to keep them all for myself, but I think you deserve one."

Posy blinked and looked up at Katniss, stopping all sobs and nodding to her. "P-p'ease, Ka'niss?" she asked almost shyly.

Katniss's forced smile turned genuine at the look on Posy's face. "Alright, I'll be right back. But I won't give it to you unless you're a big girl for me, okay?"

Posy wiped her eyes quickly, trying to ignore her pain for Katniss. Katniss gave her an encouraging smile before lifting her hand from Gale's and heading back to the kitchen to get the little girl her treat.

Inside the kitchen, Johanna and Chaff had somehow managed to get into a new argument. Annie watched the two with a very slight smile, her attention not even shifting as Peeta and Amur walked into the room. She did, however, freeze randomly and unexpectantly before forcing her hands over her ears. Katniss reached into the ice box and pulled out a red Popsicle before glancing back at Annie when Finnick frowned. He set a hand over one of hers on her ears. "Annie? What's wrong?"

Annie's eyes were fixed towards the window as she pressed harder against her ears. She started to shake slightly, never looking up at Finnick.

"Annie? Annie." Finnick continued to try and get her attention while Katniss slowly walked to the window, looking out. Outside, small, black specks littered the sky in the distance. There had to be around ten spots, all of which were making their way closer and closer to the Bonum Capitol. As they flew closer, the specks began to reveal their forms as hovercrafts.

As the crafts made their way towards the city's borders, one craft dropped an oval object to the ground below. The second the object was out of sight, a small explosion went off on the ground where it landed. Katniss cursed loudly before running back into the living room. She handed Posy the Popsicle shakily before turning to look at Prim. "You. All of you. Get down into the basement and don't do anything. Don't open that door until I come to get you. Understand?"

Posy took the treat, hardly even listening to Katniss, but Prim got up immediately. "What's going on?"

"I think Panem is invading. _Go!_"

Prim's eyes grew wide at the news, but Gale immediately jumped up to action. He picked up Posy immediately, handing her off to his mother. Hazelle stared at her son for a second before starting towards the underground basement of the house, Rory and Vick following. Gale turned towards Prim, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Prim."

Prim stared at Gale before looking to Katniss, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "B-be careful, please..."

Katniss pressed a kiss hard to Prim's forehead before pushing her gently in Rory and Vick's direction. "Always. I'll come get you when it's safe, duck. Go!"

The girl nodded before running after the group. Gale watched them off before turning to Katniss. "Do the others know? How much time do we have?"

Katniss tore her eyes away from Prim's back and looked up at Gale. "I'm sure they know by now. Annie knew before I looked and I saw a hovercraft drop a bomb on the outskirts of the city. So, not long."

Gale bit his lip hard, his mind racing as he tried to think up a plan. He shook his head slightly before dashing into the kitchen where the others were without a word. Katniss glanced out the living room window for a split second before following Gale quickly. Once in the kitchen, he looked towards everybody. "We have a situation."

Katniss stopped beside Gale. "Panem is invading."

Finnick turned away from Annie, abruptly stopping his attempts to get her attention, and just looked at Gale and Katniss. Johanna and Chaff's argument stopped as Johanna stood up from her seat at the news. "Alright, let's see if all that training has been worth it," she smirked.

Haymitch stared for a long moment at his bottle of alcohol before standing up as well. "They could have given us a warning so I'd know not to be drunk."

"They're dropping bombs," Gale warned, eyeing Haymitch, half hoping he wasn't too drunk so he could help with a strategy.

"Not surprised," Haymitch said before looking at Gale. "Don't look at me like that. I only had half the bottle. What's the plan?"

"My mother and the children are in the basement hiding out. Get everybody who can fight armed and leave the rest with them in safety. If we can fire down the hovercrafts, we might have a chance at a hostage situation and valuable information as well as preventing the bombs from going off."

Haymitch nodded shortly before heading to one of the living room closets where they were allowed to keep guns specifically for situations like this one. Finnick turned to Annie, taking her hands gently in his. "Annie, will you go downstairs for me?"

Annie, however, turned her head towards Finnick's chest and just grasped onto him tightly. She didn't have a good feeling and didn't want to let him go. Finnick furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at her. He fought the urge to wrap her tightly in his arms and go hide with her as he looked down at her, brushing her hair back from her face. "Annie, please. I have to go help, okay?"

"B-but..." she began to protest. Johanna grabbed one of the guns from Haymitch before turning towards Annie and Finnick.

"Finnick, we need to move!"

"I'll come get you when it's over." He promised, pressing a kiss to her forehead, lingering for a moment, before standing up, grabbing a gun from Haymitch as well. "Annie, please go downstairs."

When Annie didn't move, Johanna let out a growl. She turned towards the old woman at the stove. "Seeder, take Annie downstairs! We got to move out before it's too late."

The sounds of another bomb suddenly went off, causing Annie to squeak in surprise. She pushed her hands over her ears, shaking. Finnick forced himself to just step away from Annie as Seeder grabbed the girl gently by the hand, leading her quickly down to the basement with the children. Annie tried to stop herself by grabbing the doorframe. However, when the sounds of a third bomb went off and the ground actually shook a little, she let go immediately, pushing her hands over her ears. Finnick watched Annie get dragged away before pulling his eyes back to Gale, feeling terrible about forcing this on her but knowing it was necessary.

Gale, alarmed, looked towards everybody around him. He quickly looked over everybody to make sure they were all armed and there. "Alright, stick to the sidewalks and make way towards the training grounds. I'm certain the other soldiers will be out there using the same tactics as us. Let's go!"


	20. Shattered

Chapter 20. Shattered

Once outside, the sounds of screams and sirens blared through the country's Capitol as citizens littered the streets in a frenzy. Women, children, and men all ran as Bonum soldiers attempted to keep the peace, but failed at it miserably. In all its years, Bonum had never been under a direct attack and its citizens were not mentally prepared.

Among the crowd of soldiers, Lt. Zephyr stood in the street, barking orders for civilians and his squads. He looked almost desperate as he tried to keep the order. His squad had lined up on the streets, aiming their guns high, waiting for the hovercrafts to get close enough for fire. Haymitch quickly led the Victors through the screaming crowds over to Lt. Zephyr. He motioned for the Victors to join the soldiers. "Need some help, Lieutenant?"

Lt. Zephyr pulled his attention away from the crowd briefly, relief flashing on his face. "Abernathy, perfect timing. We need to hold off the crafts long enough to prepare our own air raid."

Haymitch nodded shortly, suddenly all business. "Make sure your men aim for the windows and underneath the crafts where their mechanical aspects are."

Lt. Zephyr, however, put his hand on Haymitch's shoulder. "Inform them. For now I leave them in your and Hawthorne's hands. I'm going to rush with the air strike division, they need all the spare hands they can get and now that we have you as back up, I'm not needed here."

Haymitch faltered for a moment, not expecting that, before nodding slightly, turning back to the soldiers. "Hawthorne! Over here!"

Gale ran over almost instantly and Haymitch looked at him. "We're in command of these soldiers. Take half and instruct them to aim for the windows and underside of the hovercrafts."

Gale's eyes widened slightly at the news of them being in control, but he shook it away. He nodded towards him. "And the other half? Should I take anyone from our group with me?"

"I'll take the other half and continue shooting at the hovercrafts. If you see a plane go down, take your soldiers to inspect for survivors. Search them for trackers and then take them hostage unless you just don't feel like taking prisoners today. You can take whoever you want, that's up to you."

The hunter nodded immediately before turning back to the group, talking fast but loudly enough for them all to hear his commands. "Katniss, Finnick, Johanna, Willow. You four are with me. Peeta, Amur, and Chaff, stick with Haymitch. My team will go after any crafts that fall for prisoners. Stick close and stay as a group. If we get separated, hold your ground and we'll regroup at the house when things have calmed. Understood?"

The Victors all nodded, almost uniformly. Quickly becoming soldiers, Katniss, Johanna, Willow, and Finnick moved slightly to stand behind Gale as the rest went to Haymitch. Once the groups were set, Gale took his half of the group of ten soldiers and rushed down the street to a more open area. He was looking for a place where the tops of buildings wouldn't block their view from the hovercrafts.

He led the group about half a block down before finding a spot in the road that would suffice. He directed the squad to aim for the underbellies and windows of the craft, but he turned specifically to Katniss.

"Aim for the windshield. You have the best aim and if we can get rid of the pilot, we'll be in good shape."

Katniss turned slightly to Gale and, despite the dire circumstances, her eyes sparkled. With Gale's compliment to her aim, she suddenly felt useful again, not just a figure head. "Will do, _sir_."

Gale flashed her a brief smile before turning his attention to his surroundings. The house wasn't very far off, but they were far enough that if they shot anything down, it wouldn't land near the home. He gauged Haymitch's position as well, before looking back up to the sky. Four crafts were heading from the distance, closing in on Haymitch's position quickly.

"Don't fire until they're above the others! We don't want to hurt anybody in the crossfire!" he called out, but prepared his gun up, aiming it.

Katniss aimed her gun as well, standing toward the back of the group to get a better shot. Willow glanced at Finnick and he nodded. He didn't raise his gun; instead, he picked up the small girl who quickly climbed onto the tall man's shoulders, raising her gun, shamelessly. While Finnick was much better in hand-to-hand combat, Willow surpassed him by miles in the aim department, when she could see what she was shooting at. Johanna moved herself in a position in the front of the squad. She had been okay with the gun, but she'd rather stick to the front lines as to not accidentally shoot anybody in the head of their group. With everybody in position, Gale bit his lip hard in anticipation. His eyes remained fixed on the craft the closest to Haymitch's group.

As temporary commander, Gale watched impatiently as Haymitch's group fired their rounds into the underbelly of the craft. A few shards and pieces of metal flew from its build, but no major damage was landed. To calm his nerves, Gale began to count the seconds it took for the craft to fly over the group.

_"... eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen-"_

His eyes widened as the craft shook from the damage. Its front nose dipped slightly, creating the perfect opening angle for Katniss's target. "Now!"

Katniss raised her elbow, reminiscent to how she would fire her arrow, and aimed straight for where the pilot would be behind the tinted windows of the hovercraft. She fired as soon as Gale ordered. The rest of the squad began to fire along side her. Bullets fired off into the craft as the shots Katniss took began to crack at the windshield. Gale pointed his gun slightly higher to aid Katniss towards the windshield, but primarily to break the glass so she could take the shots at the pilot. The squad fired directly at the underside of the hovercraft while the two continued firing at the windshield until the glass shattered. Katniss narrowed her eyes to get a better shot and fired a bullet directly into the pilot's head.

A shadow of a figure on the inside of the craft fell immediately before the craft itself began to plummet towards them. Gale immediately loosened his aim. "Everybody, move!" he shouted towards the group as the flying vehicle quickly grew dangerously close to them. Finnick shifted Willow from his shoulders to his back and began sprinting sideways quickly, away from the craft, Katniss on his heels. Gale grabbed Johanna by her forearm, since she was in the front, before the two ran off after the squad. Luckily, everybody managed to move in time as the craft crashed onto the street behind them.

Willow jumped down off Finnick's back as soon as he stopped. She peered out from around him at the hovercraft, wincing. "I don't think anyone could survive that."

Almost like fate was attempting to prove Willow wrong, the bent door of the craft was kicked open. A few of the squad members armed themselves again, but Johanna snickered. "Leave it to Panem, always doing the unthinkable."

One by one, Peacekeepers and what appeared to be a new type of Panem soldier branch, judging from their helmets and white uniforms, rushed from the wreckage. Some had blood stains on their clothes while others were bleed profusely from their heads. One thing, however, made the new squad look particular ferocious. Each soldier had a pair of golden, almost canine like, eyes and barred fangs as they dashed towards the soldiers.

Johanna was right. Panem really always managed to accomplish the unthinkable and immoral. Katniss's eyes widened a fraction while Willow and Finnick both seemed unsurprised. "Mutts," Gale growled.

Both Finnick and Willow instantly raised their weapons, spraying bullets at the mutt soldiers as they began to close in on the group. At this point, Gale knew the soldiers they sent would be useless as hostages. If they had altered humans, then Panem would have been certain to get rid of all the humanity in them. He rose his gun as well, beginning to fire on the soldiers and directing everybody else of the squad to do so.

The Mutt soldiers had tough flesh, but the bullets managed to do their fair share of damage. While a tedious process, the Mutts began to fall one at a time.

"Aim for their mouths!" Katniss suddenly shouted from behind, realizing that their skin was genetically toughened. As one of the last Mutts dove at Willow, she raised her gun, shooting him straight in his open mouth. As the blood sprayed on her face, she coughed but gave Katniss a thumbs up.

Upon seeing the effectiveness of Katniss's suggestion, Gale began to aim specifically for the mouths and eyes of the mutts. The mutts began to fall at a faster rate, but the distance between the Bonum soldiers and the Panem mutts was decreasing too quickly as two of the soldiers at Gale's right fell from bullet wounds. Willow glanced at the two fallen soldiers before narrowing her eyes. She quickly charged the mutts, taking Finnick's gun and using both guns to fire her bullets across their faces, not wanting anyone else to die after her promise.

"Willow!" Gale tried to shout after her, not wanting her to foolishly rush in. He growled a little in frustration as he focused his gun work on watching her back and preventing her from being attacked.

Johanna, meanwhile, on the other end of the attack, nearly dodged an almost fatal wound to the chest. The bullet instead grazed her arm but ripped enough flesh to drop her to one knee. She turned her attention towards the on-coming mutt soldier, his gun trained at her directly. "Shit..."

Suddenly, the mutt's head exploded as Katniss's bullet pierced his eye, spraying Johanna with blood.

"Dammit, Lovergirl!" Johanna quickly shielded her eyes to avoid getting blood in them, never one for a thank you. She dragged herself back to her feet and quickly lowered her arm to gain her vision again. As she pulled the gun up and fired into the crowd of mutt soldiers, the figure of a dark haired girl in her peripheral caught her attention.

Johanna didn't turn her head right away. That would have been suicide. She backed up from her position slowly, unloading countless bullets into the mutts to push them back from her. When they were finally at a decent distance, she turned to yell. "Don't just stand there-!"

She cut herself off instantly after seeing who the dark haired girl was. Annie stared at the battle with wide, sea green eyes from across the street and on the sidewalk. She wasn't too far from where Johanna stood but it was still a risky run. Johanna didn't even contemplate her own personal risks before starting at a full dash after Annie. Finnick jumped when Johanna ran across his vision. His head quickly snapped to where she was running. The look of curiosity was quickly replaced by surprised horror as he quickly took off after Johanna. "Annie!"

Annie's eyes shot straight to Finnick before she started running towards them. Clenching a small, white box in her arms, she opened her mouth to call out to him but was quickly interrupted as her entire body stopped. One of the mutt soldiers had aimed his gun toward the dark haired girl and fired three bullets, two shooting directly into her chest and one shattering the snow globe necklace around her neck.

Suddenly, even over all the gun fire and screams, Finnick's agonized cry sounded out through the air and down the street. He full out sprinted around Johanna and grabbed Annie before she hit the ground, not caring if he was shot at this point. He cradled his one and only love's head securely against his chest, falling instantly to his knees. The girl remained motionless as the white medical box she cradled in her arms fell to the ground, its contents scattering about. Annie's skin was cold, but not the same kind of chill the District 4 Victors were prone to in the snowy climate.

She had no final words, not even a minute to enjoy being in her lover's arms one last time. Annie Cresta had died almost instantly. Finnick quickly brushed the dark hair off Annie's cold forehead before pressing his lips against her still ones for a last time, breaking off abruptly with a distressed sob. "A-Annie... Ann... I... I t-told you... to stay... you're so stupid..."

From his side, Johanna suddenly stripped off her large coat quickly, wearing only a pair of sweat pants and white short sleeve shirt now, before dropping the large article of clothing beside Finnick. She turned her full focus towards the remaining mutt soldiers, trying to aim toward them though her hands shook. "Cover her and get out of here. You're going to get shot."

Finnick ignored her coat and just held Annie against his chest, pressing his face against her shoulder. "I don't care."

Johanna scowled a little as she began to pull the trigger of the gun, firing randomly. "Alright then, _I'm_ going to get shot if you don't move!"

Finnick glanced up at her wordlessly after a moment before looking at the motionless girl in his arms. He quietly closed Annie's eyelids and took the coat off the ground, wrapping her in it securely, before hoisting her up into his arms and taking off back toward the house. Johanna kept her attention trained towards the mutts, but caught him running off out of the corner of her eye. Slowly, her hands began to tremble more. She gripped her weapon tightly, her eyes filled with more rage then she'd felt in a long time.


	21. Comfort

Chapter 21. Comfort

Luckily for the squads, it didn't take much longer for Lt. Zephyr to begin the air raid counter strike. Gale finished off the last of the human mutts just as the Bonum air crafts took to the sky. With technology on par with Panem's, the battle raged on for thirty minutes until the last of the Panem hovercrafts crashed to the ground.

Johanna watched the skies with the rest of their squad until the smoke had cleared. The woman, her lips blue from the frost and both hands still trembling, dropped her gun immediately before dropping to her knees. She tilted her head down and wrapped her arms around herself tightly. Willow wiped blood off a bite on her neck that she had gotten from one of the mutts, glancing back at Johanna in surprise, while Katniss furrowed her eyebrows for a moment before slinging her gun over her shoulder, kneeling down next to the District 7 Victor. She shrugged off her own jacket and set it on Johanna's shoulders. "Come on, let's go back."

"Get off!" Johanna shouted, but it wasn't in her usual angry manner. Her voice actually cracked slightly, weakly, as she pushed the coat off her shoulders.

Katniss secured the coat tightly around Johanna's shoulders anyway, pulling the hood over her head. She stood up in just her sleeveless green hunting shirt and a pair of jeans that were so big, they had to have belonged to Madge. She thought for a moment, realized who she was dealing with, and decided tough love was the best route. "Stop being stupid, take the jacket, and stand up, because I'm not going to wear it, Johanna. And if I get frost bite and lose an arm or something, I'll never forgive you."

"Because I give a shit if _you_ forgive _me_," she spat back but got up anyways.

"Clearly, you do," Katniss smirked triumphantly. Out of spite, Johanna took the coat off and dropped it in the snow before starting to head in the direction of the house. Katniss, always stubborn, just crossed her arms and followed Johanna, leaving the coat in the snow. Upon watching the two, Willow blinked and looked at Gale, blankly. The hunter gave a small sigh as he picked up the coat from the ground.

"We have nothing left to do here. Let's head back, the others should be meeting us there soon."

Willow nodded shortly before following the two older women back toward the house, mumbling something like "these chicks are crazy".

Johanna reached the door to the house first. She grasped onto the knob, but froze on the spot, remembering what waited for her inside. She stared down at her hand, eyes slightly widened and her breathing irregular. The woman tried to blame the cold for her actions since it wasn't like her to act this way. What did she care that Annie died? Johanna had nobody left and didn't care about anybody. She asserted this to herself mentally, but for some reason, she couldn't turn the handle.

Katniss faltered behind Johanna for a moment, watching her back. Goosebumps errupted on her arms, but she pushed the discomfort back and just tilted her head to the side. Could Johanna Mason actually be feeling sadness, regret? Katniss just pressed her lips together, unsure of how to comfort a person like Johanna, so she just reached forward, setting her hand over the other woman's, and turned the door knob for her. Johanna immediately pulled her hand back once the knob was turned, shooting a glare towards Katniss. Her eyes flared but she bit her tongue and pushed her way through to the living room of the house without so much as cursing at Katniss.

Katniss frowned, concerned for the older Victor, but knowing it wasn't wise to try to comfort her. She just followed her into the house, stopping cold when she saw Seeder's dead body in the middle of the living room, half covered by Johanna's jacket, and Finnick sitting on the stairs, still holding Annie tightly against his chest, face blank. Johanna's eyes widened, especially at the sight of Seeder. That came as more of a shock to her then anything, but she quickly turned to Katniss. "Go lock that door and don't let anybody in here."

Katniss nodded quickly, tearing her eyes from Seeder. She ran over to the door and shut it, locking it quickly, ignoring Gale and Willow walking up from the street. As she did, Johanna walked to Seeder's corpse. She leaned down, fixing the coat so it fully covered the sixty year old woman from sight before straightening up again. Slowly, her gaze turned towards Finnick, but she didn't move from the spot.

Finnick didn't look at them. His eyes were still focused on Annie's face, as if unsure what to do anymore. The life was completely drained from his green eyes as he slowly ran his fingers through her dark hair. Katniss suddenly felt an intense pain in her chest while watching Finnick with Annie's body. She began thinking of this war with its heartless soldiers, killing an old woman and a mad girl. If they could do that to these helpless people, what would they do to Gale? If Gale died, would she look like Finnick did right at this moment, lifeless and unsure of how she would go on?

Johanna slowly made her way over to Finnick. She ignored the knocks that came from the front door, most likely from Gale himself, before she sat down on the stairs next to Finnick. Her eyes travelled from Annie to Finnick. She knew better then anybody how badly this felt.

"Finnick... you need to let her go now."

Katniss pressed her back against the door, wanting to bolt from the room, but didn't. She kept her eyes trained on Finnick and Johanna as Finnick slowly turned his eyes up to look at Johanna. "But... but I love her."

"I know, but that won't bring her back."

"I..." he just trailed off, pressing his face back against Annie's hair. "Just leave us alone."

Johanna stood up from the spot, but she didn't walk away. Instead she turned sideways to face him better, kneeling awkwardly on the stairs before, uncharacteristically, wrapping both her arms around Finnick and Annie. Katniss turned her eyes away awkwardly while Finnick sat there for a long moment before pressing his face against the side of Johanna's arm, not saying a word.

The short haired woman just stayed still with Finnick. She felt awkward, she felt stiff, and her leg was starting to fall asleep from the way she was kneeling on the stairs, but she forced herself to stay there. She remembered the pain she felt when her loved ones were lost and all she ever wanted was somebody there for her. But for her, nobody was left and she turned cold. Johanna didn't want Finnick becoming anything like her.

She turned her head to Katniss, as if she just remembered the woman was there. She stared at her for a minute before clearing her throat. "Go outside. Now."

Katniss's face quickly turned red, but she nodded hurriedly. She unlocked the door and hurriedly stepped outside, but shut the door behind her and leaned against it so no one could get in. Outside, standing right at the front stoop, Gale blinked at her. "Um... Katniss? Can we come inside?"

"No, not yet," Katniss said quietly, her voice slightly choked, not looking at him.

Gale tilted his head, staring at her, before putting a hand on her shoulder. "What's going on?"

"They're busy," she said before she just pressed her face against Gale's chest, wrapping her arms immediately and tightly around his waist. After seeing Finnick holding Annie's still body so tenderly, her fear for everyone, but mainly Gale, had increased tenfold. The hunter's eyes widened slightly, but he wrapped his arms around Katniss regardless. He decided not to press the matter anymore, now worried mostly for her sake. He leaned down, kissing her forehead.

"Okay, we'll wait..."

There was a loud sigh from behind Gale and Willow as Haymitch arrived with Peeta, Chaff, and Amur. "Why are we all standing outside? It's cold as shit."

Upon hearing Haymitch, the hunter lifted his head up towards him, but still held on to Katniss. "Something's going on inside with Johanna and Finnick."

Peeta's eyes immediately darted to Katniss, concerned. "Katniss?" he looked towards Gale. "Is she okay?"

Katniss pressed her lips together, her face still hidden in Gale's coat. She stayed still for a long moment before slowly pulling her head back, looking around Gale to the rest of the group, face pale and drawn. "Annie and Seeder are dead. Finnick needs... some time."

"Seeder?" Chaff spoke up and, for the first time, sorrow hinted in his voice. "What happened? I thought dat Seeder and Annie were still in da house during the attacks."

"I don't... I don't know... they were supposed to be. Annie ran off to find Finnick... I guess Seeder went after her. Maybe."

Nobody else spoke. The news of everything left a lingering cloud of depression looming over everybody's heads. Seeder, the fragile old woman, was always so helpful. She never did anybody harm while Annie was too innocent to ever hold ill will against anyone. She was always so fearful, yet loving and curious. It was a blow nobody expected or believed. Katniss just looked up at Gale for a moment, eyes frightened and worried. She tucked her head back against his coat, acting like she was cold, so he wouldn't see those emotions were mainly for him and how selfish she was for not really thinking about Annie and Seeder at a time like this.

Haymitch was quiet for a long moment before sighing heavily, eyeing the door. "I need a damn drink."

"I think a few a us do after dat news," Chaff sighed before putting a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Maybe we should knock," Willow suggested quietly from behind Gale and Katniss, glancing back at Amur, worried about her mentor. Amur, who had a frown on his face the entire time, looked to Willow. He nodded quietly before stepping forward. As he did, however, the door suddenly opened slightly as Johanna stood at the doorway. She blinked up at Amur before glancing to everybody else. She snickered.

"So the whole party's back, eh? Freezing your asses off enough out here?"

Katniss turned her head slightly away from Gale to look at Johanna while Haymitch sighed again, heavily. "Stop being a bitch and let us in."

"Ask nicely next time, Mitch," she spat but stepped aside so the group could walk in.

In the living room, both Seeder and Annie's bodies had been moved, presumably by Johanna. Finnick, like the bodies, had disappeared from the living room, assumably up to the room he once shared with Annie. The woman kept by the door, crossing her arms as she waited for Katniss to pass her. Katniss let all the other Victors walk in before her and then she looked at Johanna. "How is he?"

"How would you be?" she replied flatly before shooting her eyes towards the girl. "You don't tell a single person what you saw in this room or on the stairs, got it?"

"I wasn't going to," Katniss said quickly, crossing her arms. "I wouldn't... I just... I was worried. Sorry."

"Nothing any of us say or do will make him better. All we can do is help out when we can and make sure he doesn't turn into me."

Katniss paused for a moment, closing the door against the cold. She looked back up at the woman and smiled slightly, lowering her voice so no one could overhear. "You're not that bad, Johanna. It was sweet what you did for him."

Johanna's eyes darted, locking with Katniss's briefly in a glare. However, as much as she tried, the glare couldn't help but look forced. She pulled her gaze away from her, uncertain of what to say. So, instead, she walked to the kitchen. "Mitch, pop me open a bottle or I'm taking yours!"

Katniss watched Johanna go with a slight smile before heading to the basement to let her sister and Gale's family know it was safe, wondering if she would ever truly understand the woman.


	22. Strategy

Chapter 22. Strategy

An entire month passed since the attack on Bonum. A funeral for both Annie and Seeder had been held shortly after their deaths and all were excused from training for as long as the group needed. Johanna had taken this time off to get completely hammered most of the days, but occasionally and in private, she visited Finnick's room to check on the boy. Finnick had only left his room once since the day of the attack and that was to attend Annie's funeral, to say his final goodbyes. Since then, he had been sitting in his dark room with a length of rope, tying and untying it, certain he was going insane but not able to find the strength to care.

Katniss had returned to drinking with Haymitch, Chaff, and Johanna after the attack. While she had originally hated alcohol and the way it caused her to be unfocused, now it was what she relied on. Without the alcohol, she was constantly thinking of the war, her mother, Gale, Peeta, Thread, and Effie. With all those people in her head, without the aid of liquor, she would be constantly fending off panic attacks.

Security on Bonum's street had significantly heightened. It was rare to not see soldiers out on the streets now and a new alarm system had been placed for alerting the citizens of an attack. The President had even proposed the creation of public bomb shelters, but the construction plans for such were still underway.

Sometime during the afternoon, a knock on the door interrupted their peaceful living for the first time since that attack one month ago. Willow glanced up from shining her boots at the knock. She quickly stood up, dropping the rag onto the table, and answered the door. Lt. Zephyr looked down towards Willow, nodding at her. "I have an important summon for all the soldiers of the house to visit President Pyrrhus immediately. Please gather the others."

Willow immediately nodded respectfully. "Yes, sir." She quickly turned on her heel and ran into the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Peeta had taken up the job of cooking for everybody since Seeder's death. As the circle of drunks congregated at the table, Peeta turned from the stove to gather a few bowls. He stopped when he saw Willow enter. "Willow, you want some soup?"

Willow smiled at Peeta briefly as Katniss let out a cackle, slapping Johanna hard on the back. "Umm, no, thanks, Peeta. Lieutenant Zephyr just came by. We have been summoned to see President Pyrrhus. Immediately," she mumbled the last word, glancing at the four drunks doubtfully.

Peeta followed her gaze and his smile immediately faded. He gave a small sigh before walking towards the four. "Did any of you hear that?"

Haymitch glanced back at Peeta and Willow. "Has no one heard of giving people notice? Just bargin' in here... givin' us orders."

"They let us off for a month. Do you need me to give you all some food to sober up before he go?"

Haymitch glanced at Katniss, who was holding her breath to stop from laughing. He glanced up at Peeta. "That might be a good idea."

Peeta gave a small, worried frown towards Katniss before looking to Willow. "Go find Gale and the others. I'll take care of this."

* * *

><p>After a few bowls of soup, pieces of bread, and plenty of water later, the group of Victors sat at the familiar circular table with the map of Bonum and Panem on its surface. Because he wasn't stable enough, Finnick had been permitted to stay at home longer while Beetee and Wiress had responsibilities at the Tele-Comm Building. The remaining victors in the meeting room consisted of Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch, Chaff, Johanna, Willow, and Amur.<p>

Katniss rubbed her eyes quickly, feeling significantly less inebriated in a bad way. She sat up straight and tried to focus on the President, not knowing how Chaff, Haymitch, and Johanna could seem like they were so alert. President Pyrrhus looked to the group, his usually serious demeanor a little more on the somber side. He cleared his throat before beginning to speak. "First, all me to extend my thanks for aiding in the attack last month against Panem's invasive forces. We wouldn't have been able to gain the Intel that we have without your efforts and assistance."

Haymitch tilted his head slightly toward the President in acknowledgement. "We were glad to help."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for more help then. However, I believe this is something you shall all be interested in."

Haymitch leaned forward toward the President a little, raising his eyebrows, intrigued. The look on Gale's face was almost identical as the President pulled out a folder from under his end of the table.

"Based upon evidence discovered on the wreckage of the Panem vehicles, as well as broadcasts that have come and gone over Panem televisions that we've managed to tap into, we've been able to discover the names of head Generals of Panem's President Coin."

Haymitch's eyebrows raised slightly higher. "We're attacking them?"

"We've voted and that would be the best course of action. They've attacked and killed too many of our citizens and allies to continue this manner. We have a list of the top five commanders for the Panem Peacekeepers and have been able to pinpoint their headquarter locations."

Haymitch furrowed his eyebrows. "Are they at different locations? Who are they?"

President Pyrrhus slid the folder across the table for Haymitch and the other Victors to go through. "Some are in the Capitol and others reside in Districts 1 and 2. District 2 is the primary location as we cannot attack the Capitol directly yet."

Haymitch nodded slightly, opening the folder and flipping through the pieces of paper while Katniss and Willow both craned their necks to get a better look at the files. "The only problem is the mountain range in 2."

"Which is why I've called you all here. You and Hawthorne are among my war council's strategy unit."

As Haymitch continued to flip through, each page had a picture of the general with a full bio on all known information on them. On the final page was Peacekeeper Thread's image, his whereabouts stationed at District 2. Haymitch suddenly froze as he was confronted with Thread's picture. His mouth slowly turned upward into a smirk as he looked up and caught Katniss's similar facial expression. She took the file from him quickly. "Not if I get to him first, Haymitch."

"You will all work as a group," the President continued. "We will work out a strategy here and now and begin preparations for the attack once plans have been finalized."

Haymitch tore his eyes away from Katniss, feeling his mind reeling with the possibilities of finally getting revenge on Thread and, possibly more importantly, seeing Effie again. "District 2 manufactures weapons, so we have to be careful they don't see us too far in advance."

"Of course. But we need to work on how to get in to District 2 first."

"The mountain range," Katniss spoke up suddenly, turning her eyes from Thread's bio page to the map on the table. "It is a disadvantage to us, but also a disadvantage to them. While they can see the sky, they can't see the ground if we come from the right direction at the right angle."

"Going by foot will be risky, but this is true," a man in the jury of Senators proclaimed before pointing to a cave dug from one of the mountainsides. "We assume this is the only entrance and exit where trains pass in and out from. It's the only feasible manner of entering through to the inside."

"The only issue is being spotted," Haymitch said, looking down at the map as well. "We're all well known."

"Do we have District 6?" Gale suddenly spoke up, asking the group overall. "Or at least know the status of the rebellion there?"

President Pyrrhus gave him a nod. "At least from the broadcasts we've been gathering, the 76th Hunger Games have been halted due to 'damage from tornadoes to the railroad system'."

"Then we should go to District 6. They're not far from District 2 and we should be able to take a train directly into the District."

Haymitch nodded thoughtfully, looking at Gale. "And once we're in District 2, it doesn't matter if we're spotted."

"We'll already be inside, close, and have surprise on our side," Gale looked back at Haymitch.

"We'll need a small team to find Thread."

"Whoever can sneak around the quietest and fastest." Gale's glance went back towards Katniss briefly.

Katniss automatically smiled at Gale, but Haymitch furrowed his eyebrows. "Or someone with some body weight who can take him down."

"A mix," he suggested, turning his attention back at Haymitch. "Two or three people who can sneak the rest of the team in quietly then strong arms to take him down. It'll be useless just sending someone out who will make too much noise and get caught before they even see Thread. Make the team more balanced."

Haymitch nodded, mollified. "Katniss and me, then."

"Alright. I'll lead a diversion team with a few soldiers to keep attention away from the two of you."

Haymitch nodded again before turning back slightly to look at the President. President Pyrrhus nodded towards the two of them after pausing only to make sure neither had anything to add. "Very well. We'll get to work on contacting the forces in District 6 and preparing you a squad of soldiers."

"When will we be leaving approximately?"

"It's difficult to say, depending upon how long it will take to prepare everything."

Haymitch nodded again. "Understandable."

The President nodded once more to Haymitch before standing from his chair. "Once this is done, there is no turning back. We will be retaliating with force and thus, a war will be waged against Panem. I want you all to understand the risks and importance of this."

Haymitch turned his eyes up to the President. "I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say there was never an option and we wouldn't turn back even if we could."

President Pyrrhus nodded towards them all. "Then you may retreat back to your homes and prepare yourselves. We'll send a notice the day before your departure to District 6. If there are any problems, you will be notified immediately."

"Thank you, President," Haymitch said respectfully before standing up. Gale eyed Haymitch a little before standing up. It was odd, seeing the man acting so respectful and obedient, but the hunter understood. He could tell the older man was ready to do anything if it meant seeing the former escort again.


	23. Progress

Chapter 23. Progress

As the Victors reentered their house, the overall mood had shifted dramatically. There was a slight charge in the air from Katniss and Haymitch's barely contained excitement. Both wanted their revenge desperately, but Haymitch had another emotion as well: hope. After his and Peeta's talk in the kitchen all those months ago, Haymitch had become certain Effie at least felt something for him, even if it wasn't as strong as what he felt for her. At the idea of seeing her again, his body filled with anxious happiness and excitement.

Haymitch wasn't the only one happy. A hand reached out, planting itself on the man's shoulder as Peeta took a step more to his side. He had a large smile on his face as he looked at his former mentor. "That certainly made things a little more optimistic."

Haymitch glanced sideways at the blond boy, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "Hopefully we'll finally get some revenge."

"And get her back. Any ideas of what you're going to say after you kill Thread and bring her back with you?" Peeta chuckled, more than a little happy and excited for Haymitch. It was about time the man got some good news and something to smile about.

Haymitch's cheeks actually turned a faint, foreign shade of pink and he glanced away slightly. "I'm not going to say much of anything. To be honest, I really just want to hear her start to nag me again."

"I can almost guarantee it won't take long for that to start happening again."

Haymitch walked past Katniss, who was buttering a piece of bread at the kitchen counter, and sat down heavily at the kitchen table, giving Peeta a look. "Thanks, Peeta. That's encouraging."

"It's the truth though," the painter laughed as he sat down across from Haymitch.

"Effie isn't-" Haymitch started, but Katniss cut him off with a scoff, turning towards them.

"We're still talking about her?"

Peeta blinked, pulling his eyes away from Haymitch and up towards Katniss. He frowned, having almost forgotten about his and her argument over their past escort. "Katniss, don't..."

"No, you 'don't'," Katniss snapped at Peeta, setting her piece of bread down.

Haymitch narrowed his eyes. "I really don't think any of this is your business, sweetheart."

"I think it is my business if we're still concerned with that traitorous _bitch_."

Peeta's eyes only widened as he immediately turned towards Haymitch, half expecting the man to dive from his chair for Katniss like he had done to Johanna while they were on the run. And dive, he did. Haymitch was immediately out of his chair, pinning Katniss against the counter. She looked up at him, but not fearfully, more like challenging him to hit her. Haymitch's hands clenched uselessly at his sides, even as he invaded her personal space. "After everything she's done for you and you have the gall to call her _that_?"

"Oh, all that she's done for me? All she's done is hurt all of us because she's a _bitch_, Haymitch," Katniss hissed at him. As soon as the words left her mouth, her head snapped sideways with the force of Haymitch's slap across her face.

"Haymitch!" Peeta jumped from his seat and grabbed hold of his arm, trying to prevent the man from hitting her again. With as much strength as he could muster, he attempted to pull Haymitch off of Katniss and break up the fight as best he could. Haymitch, holding himself back from elbowing Peeta in the ribs and forcing him to the ground, allowed himself to be pulled away from Katniss. Katniss gently dabbed the corner of her mouth, her sleeve coming away bloody.

Once Haymitch was off the girl, Peeta practically forced him back into his chair. Haymitch growled from his chair at the table but quickly grabbed his bottle he had left there that morning. The painter made sure to stand between the two to prevent any further physical fighting but frowned when he looked back towards Katniss and saw the blood. Unsure what to say, he quickly grabbed a wash cloth from the counter top and knelt down next to her with it. Katniss looked up at Peeta for a moment before taking the wash cloth from him, looking away.

"Katniss... I know you're upset with Effie, but we don't know the entire story..."

"I don't know how you can be so quick to forgive her," she mumbled quietly, pressing the cloth against her mouth.

"Because we're not certain if she's even done anything wrong yet."

"She's already done something wrong if she's standing next to _him _and hasn't killed herself yet."

Peeta stared at her. "Is that what you would have done? Haymitch promised her that he would save her. Don't you think she might be trying to hold onto that promise for him?"

"I don't care what he promised. I would rather die than be his prisoner, if she's even _that_ anymore," Katniss spat, getting back to her feet. Peeta sighed, but he stayed on his knees on the ground. No matter what he said, he knew she wouldn't listen or even attempt to.

Slowly, he looked up. "You don't have to forgive her, but let Haymitch have his optimism, alright?"

"Sure. I'll let him live his lie for a bit longer," she dropped the cloth back to the counter, shooting Haymitch a look, before quickly leaving the room. The painter shook his head before standing back up, turning his attention back on Haymitch.

"Your girlfriend's a bitch," Haymitch stated suddenly, taking a long swig off his bottle.

Peeta let out a small laugh as he sat back down across from Haymitch. "Unfortunately, she can be sometimes... and unfortunately, she's still not my girlfriend."

"Ah... sorry. She will be someday, though," Haymitch promised the painter quietly before offering him the bottle.

Peeta gave Haymitch another small laugh before shaking his head to the bottle. "No thanks, I've seen how you four act with that stuff."

"So you don't want to be awesome?"

"Not today." The painter let out another laugh, happy that the fight overall didn't seem to effect Haymitch enough to make the man lose his sense of humor. Haymitch smiled slightly at the boy before leaning back, sipping from the bottle again. The truth was, he was angry, beyond angry, and hurt. But he understood Katniss and he understood her feelings of concern and betrayal. The truth was he could never be angry with her for too long because she was basically himself, but younger and female. He knew that she would need concrete proof to believe in Effie again, and he intended to get that for her.

* * *

><p>As the rest of the group remained in the living room and lower portion of the house, Johanna slipped away from an inebriated Chaff and up the stairs towards the bedrooms. She looked around cautiously. Once she saw nobody in the hallway, the woman walked up to Finnick's bedroom door and knocked. "Finnick, I'm coming in."<p>

"Okay," came Finnick's soft reply from inside the room.

Johanna pressed her lips together, biting them hard for a moment, before opening the door. She stepped inside quietly, looking around as she shut the door behind her. Finnick's room was in utter disarray. Scattered around the floor were the blankets from his bed and various clothing items. But there Finnick sat, shirtless, either unaware or uncaring of his messy surroundings. His bronze hair, usually so masterfully tousled, was standing on end as he attempted a particularly difficult knot on his rope. Johanna tried to hide it as best as she could, but the entire situation struck sadness through her. She rolled her eyes at the thought before trying to toughen herself up again.

"This place is a mess, Finnick."

Finnick didn't raise his eyes from his rope. His fingers deftly continued working on the knot while he shrugged slightly. "It's fine."

"No, it's not," she argued as she began to walk around the room, kicking the clothing into a pile. She wasn't one for cleaning, but kicking the fabric around and complaining about it at least was filling what could have been an awkward silence between the two.

Finnick's puffy, red-rimmed eyes slowly raised to watch Johanna. Suddenly, though, he yelled "stop!" hoarsely as her foot almost came in contact with one of Annie's shirts. Johanna froze the moment he yelled as she stayed in place, watching him. He quickly scrambled out of bed and grabbed the fabric off the floor.

He pressed the shirt against his chest as if he didn't know he was being ridiculous before sitting back on the edge of his bed, pressing the material between his fingers, almost lovingly. Johanna sighed before giving up on her lazy attempt at cleaning. She walked over beside him, sitting down on the edge. "... I'm sorry, Finnick."

"For what?"

Johanna, however, looked at everything in the room except for Finnick. "That I couldn't get to her in time."

"It wasn't your fault, Johanna," he stated, still in the quiet, weak voice that didn't sound like Finnick Odair at all. "I should have stayed with her."

The woman almost winced at the sound of his voice. She shook her head. "I couldn't save her... and I'm not going to be able to save you."

"I don't need saving, Johanna. Only she could do that, only she could save me from all those Capitol women, and only she could save me from this. And now she's gone." His hands tightened on her shirt until he balled it up tightly in his fists.

Johanna turned slowly, looking back at him. "There's no Capitol women here."

Finnick chuckled hollowly, setting Annie's shirt lovingly on the bed next to his thigh. "You know as well as I do that they're always here. That they never leave you, Johanna."

Johanna opened her mouth in protest, but no words came out. Hard as she tried, she couldn't find an argument against his logic. It was true.

The woman turned her attention towards the wall to her right and just stared at it, bringing her knees up to her chest. "Yeah, well, so what? They can't do anything else..."

Finnick paused before setting a hand gently on one of her knees. "They don't have to do anything else. They've already broken both of us."

Angrily, Johanna snatched Finnick's hand and pulled it from her knee. However, instead of throwing his arm as far from her as possible, she gripped it. "Dammit, Finnick. I'm supposed to be the one helping you. Don't turn the damn tables on me."

"We can help each other," Finnick said in the same infuriating, soft, placating tone of voice as he gripped Johanna's hand back tightly, desperate to take care of someone now that he no longer had Annie. "You don't have to be tough all the time."

"Yes I do," she spat, looking back at him. "The instant I turn soft is the moment I lose whatever dignity I have left."

"So I have no dignity?" He didn't sound angry, just curious.

"You're different... You're not like me, you don't think like I do. And I don't want you to turn into me, ever."

"Maybe I should, though... if it doesn't hurt as much."

Johanna stared at him long and hard until finally letting out a small chuckle. At first, it was soft and almost sounded like she sincerely found something amusing but after a few seconds, she had broken out into almost maniacal laughter. "O-oh Finnick..." she snickered, shaking her head. "If it didn't hurt, I would tell you to be this way in a heartbeat. You want the truth? There's not a day that goes by where I'm not hurting, screaming on the inside, and bottling everything up. Even I don't fully understand how I think or why some things bother me while others don't. All I know is everything hurts..."

Finnick stared at her for a moment, silently, before reaching out and wrapping his strong arms around her tightly, pulling her against him in a close hug, not caring if she yelled or punched him. "You can talk about it, if you want. The hardest thing about all of this, about any situation, is feeling like no one cares enough to listen. You cared enough to sit here and comfort me. I can do the same with you."

Johanna stiffened up at his touch, but avoided his eyes entirely. The time for her to talk was way long gone. She was passed the point where she needed to confide in somebody else and no longer could allow herself the luxury of letting others in close. Or so she thought.

"You don't want to listen to my past. It'll only make things worse."

"I don't think things can possibly get worse, Johanna."

"We're dealing with Panem. Things always can get worse," she sighed, but finally managed to look at Finnick.

Finnick furrowed his eyebrows, loosening his grip on her slightly and looking down at her. "When I was fifteen,... the year after I'd won,... President Snow began to sell me. Annie was the only one who would listen. And, sometimes, she would just talk to me. She would tell me about how the teachers were being unfair to her at school or how her father's fishing business was doing. She didn't have any real problems, not back then, but focusing on her made me feel better. And maybe you, focusing on yourself, will make you feel better too."

The woman hesitated as she stared up at Finnick. She wanted to leave now, more than ever. However, she only wanted to leave so badly because she wanted to actually talk and the thought scared her.

"I'm not weak," she blurted out first, almost to reassure herself more so then Finnick. "I'm only going to talk for your sake, got it?"

Finnick smiled, only slightly, but it was the most he had done in a month. "I never said you were, Johanna. Only a fool would say that. But I think being able to talk about things makes you strong because it shows you're not afraid anymore."

The short haired woman gave a long sigh, swallowing her pride, but staring at the ceiling. "I was seventeen... when I was reaped for the 64th Games, the one right before yours."

He didn't say anything, knowing he was lucky she was even agreeing to talk to him. He let go of her and sat back slightly, watching her silently.

"After my name was called, I came up with my strategy... pretend I was nothing, hide out, cower, pretty much act defenseless until the numbers dwindled down. I thought it was a good idea and, sure I won, but with my win came the Capitol's admiration. I think I would rather be dead then have that now. But after everything was over... President Snow visited me. He said he wanted to try something new with the more... _desirable_ Victors. And apparently my fragile act gave much of Panem's Capitol the illusion that I can be _adorable_. Definitely would have rather been dead."

Finnick nodded slightly, one of the only people in the world who would understand how Johanna felt. Although he wasn't desirable for being "adorable", he was definitely the most popular Victor who was sold and, every time a meaningless Capitol woman would take their clothes off for him, he died a little inside.

"I refused. I never had a father and my mother died the year before, so he had no family to threaten me with. Yet, somehow, he found out about her..."

His eyes quickly snapped to the side of Johanna's face. "Her?"

Johanna cringed slightly as she crossed her arms hard against her chest. She was trying her hardest to stop, to prevent herself from looking any weaker or more vulnerable. Yet, regardless of the pain the memories resurfacing brought, it somehow felt good. She had been holding her story in for too many years now. "Aline. We were... close. She helped me after my mother died and was the only one who really even seemed to care about me. She was a year younger and had the most beautiful, innocent green eyes..."

Finnick pressed his lips together and had to physically restrain his arms from reaching out to hug her again. Suddenly, it all made sense to him: Johanna's hardness, her protective shell from the world, and, most of all, the way she had treated Annie, who had the most beautiful green eyes he himself had ever had to privilege to gaze into.

"He practically kidnapped me from my house and forced me back to the Capitol," Johanna continued. "Apparently I had already been sold to a few buyers. When I was put in the room with the first, I grabbed the lampshade and tried to bash him in the head with it. I would have killed him too, had the Peacekeepers not been watching. Apparently they anticipated it and I wasn't the only one from District 7 they kidnapped. They... bound me so I couldn't leave the room and gave Aline to the man. Then when it was over, they shot her."

"I'm sorry, Johanna," Finnick said quietly, almost whispering. His eyes were horrified and he slowly reached out, setting a hand on her shoulder.

"You're the only one who knows any of that. Keep it that way, Fish."

"I know you haven't told anyone about me. I would never tell anyone about you, either."

"Good... I'm trusting your word on that. I'll kill you if you ever..."

"I know you will. I'm not capable of defending myself against you," he gave her a slight smile. Johanna turned towards him, looking specifically at his smile. Today, he had shown more progress and seemed closer to his old self than ever before. She couldn't help but crack a small smile back.


	24. Arrangements

Chapter 24. Arrangements

After a week of anxious waiting on everybody's part, the news had finally arrived. Lt. Zephyr personally informed all of the household that one final meeting was to be held before the President and his council. Once the meeting was over and all plans were finalized, their mission would begin. They were going back into Panem as the official messengers of war.

The following morning, hardly anybody ate. The Victors dressed in their battle outfits Cinna and Portia had prepared for them before throwing the Bonum fur coats on top for warmth. No longer in need of an escort, the group of Victor soldiers made their way through the Capitol Justice building and through the wooden double doors. This time, however, President Pyrrhus alone was the only one to greet them at his position at the war table. The Victors took their normal seats around the table and all looked up at the Bonum leader, almost in unison, awaiting instruction.

"I believe we all know why we've gathered. Since no new decisions are being made, my council are not required to oversee this meeting," he answered the unasked question. "We'll be going over all specifics of this mission."

Haymitch nodded shortly, already sitting up straight in his chair, ready to get this over with and find Effie. "And what are the specifics?"

"You will use the Panem hovercraft to sneak in over Panem's borders. From there, the craft will be landed in the woods outside of District 6. We have made contact with rebel forces, whom have organized themselves rather skillfully. A squad on the inside will aid you in your break-in of District 6 led by a woman named Commander Paylor, a rebel general from District 8."

"Why are rebels from District 8 in six?" Gale asked as he adjusted his black jacket slightly. Since Cinna had not made him a Team Mockingjay uniform, he was forced to borrow Finnick's and, to his chagrin, the jacket was a little too loose on his chest and arms.

"It seems District 8 has managed, under the leadership of Commander Paylor, to completely overthrow their oppression and drive the Peacekeepers from their borders. We managed to get in close with a few rebel leaders through the aid of a mole among Coin's Gamemakers council."

"Plutarch," Peeta sighed with relief that the man was still on their side.

Katniss instantly felt a pain in her chest and she rubbed the long scar on her neck, courtesy of Savage, absentmindedly. Since arriving in Bonum, she hadn't even spared a thought to Plutarch, Cinna, Portia, or her team of stupid, yet lovable, stylists. She suddenly felt selfish and she glanced down at the table, pretending to study the map.

"Will they follow us to District 2?" Haymitch asked suddenly. "Or will we be on our own at that point?"

"Their help only extends through District 6. They will aid you in getting onto the train, but you eight will be on your own with the aid of a squad of fifteen Bonum soldiers at your side."

"I think we can handle that," Willow replied, awkwardly shifting in Annie's previous Team Mockingjay outfit as well. While she had to admit the clothing was attractive, she had to roll the pants up so her boots wouldn't catch on the ends and the sleeves hung awkwardly over her small hands.

"I assumed. We would not want too large a crowd otherwise it would be difficult to gather everybody when the time came to leave."

Haymitch just nodded, biting his tongue against the idea that everybody would probably not be leaving. The President looked to Haymitch before looking down the table at everyone, individually. "This war will change everything. Once it starts, it cannot be stopped until we and the rebel forces stand victorious."

"We will," Katniss spoke strongly, her eyes flitting almost automatically to Amur. The fisherman sat with his usual, attentive expression but his mouth had curled up slightly, hinting towards a hopeful smile. He turned slightly towards Katniss, catching her stare. Katniss smiled slightly, bordering on imperceptibly, at Amur, remembering their talk before going to District 13 and the promise she had made him. She quickly turned her eyes back on the President.

"You are to lead Thread out, take him out, and return to Bonum. You are to be quick in and out, acting only at night in the shadows. Are there any questions?" the President finished, looking at the table's surface.

Haymitch turned his eyes away from Katniss and looked back at the President. "Do we have a general idea of where Thread will be located?"

With his eyes on the map, President Pyrrhus scanned the district for a brief moment before landing his finger on a larger white square in the valley's heart. "This is where our coordinates tell us the broadcasts are filmed from and where the vessel we managed to investigate had its communications tracked to."

Haymitch nodded slightly, glancing at Katniss, since his mind wasn't what it once was. Katniss's eyes quickly flitted around the map of District 2, memorizing the would-be location of Thread. She nodded after a moment, leaning back in her chair. "We'll get him. No problem."

The President lifted his finger before turning towards the group as a whole. "We will be sending out eight medics in your squad as well as cameras on certain soldiers. Once you leave this room, the craft will be waiting for you at the launching pad with your squad."

Katniss faltered slightly at this news. "Cameras? Are those... necessary?"

"Let them," Gale spoke up again, looking to Katniss. "Let everybody know how badly things are but how successful we can be."

She turned her eyes onto Gale. "I understand that, and believe me, I want Panem to see this as much as anyone else, but maybe we can not capture Thread's death."

"They'll film as much as they can, but I understand that you and Abernathy will be going after Thread personally, alone," the President looked towards her. "You don't have to worry, they would not accompany you to this for risk of ruining the mission."

Katniss relaxed slightly and nodded. "It's bad enough having to take Haymitch with me. I just don't want to be too loud."

Haymitch sent her a glare but kept his mouth shut.

"You need the muscle," Peeta reminded her, trying to stick up partially for Haymitch. The painter glanced towards the older man briefly before turning back to the President. Katniss crossed her arms tightly, not replying, thinking that she had enough "muscle" on her own. The President, however, stood from his chair. He looked the squad over once more before motioning towards the door.

"This is where we temporarily part ways. We will meet again after your victory over District 2."

Haymitch's mouth twitched upwards momentarily before he stood up with the rest of the Victors, enjoying the President's confidence in the mission.

* * *

><p>After the meeting, it was just as the President had promised. On the launching pad, a group of fifteen soldiers stood at attention, waiting on orders from the Victors. Eight wore white coats with red badges on them, signalling the medics of the group while five wore the helmets with the camera lenses attached to the front. The squad was lined up along the craft's walkway entrance, patiently. Haymitch led the Victors onto the launching pad, automatically roaming his eyes over the soldiers. After determining they were satisfactory, he looked at Gale. "So, you'll be in charge of them, then."<p>

Gale nodded, looking back up towards Haymitch. "Once we hit District 2. As a precaution, we should split everybody up evenly for when we get to District 6. They're still in rebellion and we're not certain what the exact situation there is, even with Commander Paylor's help."

Gale was taking his role as a leader very seriously. All the years of talking about how he would one day fight against Panem's oppressive government had built him up and prepared him for his role. Any doubts that he was useless or unneeded were far from his mind now. He was ready to do whatever it took to not only get their revenge but to change the course of Panem's history and future. He couldn't be any more focused on the task at hand as he turned back towards the soldiers, counting everybody over once more and dividing them in his mind.

"I'll take eleven and you take ten?" Haymitch suggested, eyeing the soldiers as well. Of course, Haymitch never cared about changing history. He cared about two things: Effie and how he was going to get her back.

"Works for me. Keep Katniss with you since you both will need to work together inside District 2. And... take Peeta as well," he mumbled the last part for only Haymitch to hear.

The older Victor furrowed his eyebrows, looking at Gale. "What? Why?"

"Because out of anybody, I can trust him to protect Katniss the most."

Gale knew he couldn't stop Katniss from wanting to fight. It would be hypocritical of him. She had just as much drive as he did. However, he still wanted to protect her as best he could and he knew Peeta felt the same. Haymitch's confused expression melted into one of understanding. Even though he was certain Katniss would be pissed if she heard the hunter talking like that, he patted Gale on the back. "Got it."

Gale said nothing but gave Haymitch an appreciative nod.

Haymitch glanced back at the Victors. "Alright, Katniss, Peeta, and Chaff, you'll be with me in District 6. Willow, Johanna, and Amur, you'll be with Gale."

Katniss just glanced at Gale, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth quickly. The hunter avoided her look as he turned towards the lined up Bonum soldiers, giving them directions on who to follow. He made sure the majority of the cameramen followed Haymitch's team, leaving only one for his end. Katniss released her lip, gritted her teeth, and crossed her arms tightly.

As soon as Haymitch and Gale had determined who was going to be with who, Haymitch led everyone onto the hovercraft, a very angry Katniss bringing up the end. As they walked on, Gale let himself glance back towards Katniss briefly. He let out a sigh, able to gauge her anger just from the woman's body language. Katniss, however, refused to look at Gale. She knew right away what he was doing and not only was she angry, she was offended. As soon as they had all gotten on the large hovercraft, she stalked off to sulk in one of the lounge rooms. The hunter, however, followed right after her. If they were going to fight, he was going to do it right now and get it over with. If anything were to happen, he didn't want her angry with him.

He followed until he was close enough to touch her and grabbed her wrist. "Just stop and yell at me now."

Katniss tore her wrist out of his grasp and turned on him, narrowing her eyes. "I have nothing to say to you."

"I'm certain you have more then a few choice words to throw at me, actually. So just get it done with so we can go through this without fighting, alright?"

She glared at him and crossed her arms. "Am I that useless that I need _two _babysitters, Gale?"

"You're not useless. If you were, you wouldn't be on this mission period."

"Then why do I have Haymitch and Peeta following me around with four cameramen?"

"Haymitch and you need to work together better because you'll be going after Thread with him. I figured that you two needed to plan. And of course the cameras would be sent with you and Peeta, Katniss, think about that one for a minute."

She glared at him harder, but dropped her arms back to her sides. "I've _thought about it_, Gale. Don't talk to me like I'm an ignorant child."

"If you know the answers, then why would you even ask me?" Gale stared down at her, remarkably calm. "You know damn well why the cameras need to be there and why you need to be by Peeta. Stop acting like a child and just accept the fact that this is how it has to be for the mission to work."

Katniss's face slowly began turning red in anger at the calmness Gale exuded. "_Excuse me?_ Me? Act like a child? YOU'RE acting like a child! I don't care about the damn cameras! I don't know if you've forgotten, but I'm a completely capable adult with remarkable skills, yet you still seem to think it's necessary to send the _baker's son _to protect me? You're pathetic."

Gale bit the inside of his cheek, crossing his own arms. "... is that it then?"

"No. Also, I'm more capable than anyone else on this entire damn hovercraft and you should be sending _me _to protect _you._ Ass."

Gale tightened his arms slightly, but surprisingly managed to keep his calm. He didn't want a huge battle between them and he was trying his hardest not to yell back at her. No matter what he said, she wouldn't listen anyways. But he was also afraid that if he let her have her way, she would get herself killed. Instead, he let out a long sigh, counting the seconds it took to exhale, before dropping his arms at his side. "It should take us a few hours to get there. Get yourself comfortable."

Katniss stared at him hard for a moment. Instead of feeling better after telling him off, she just felt angrier at him for not fighting back. It was decidedly un-Gale of him and she didn't like it. She glared at him for a few more beats before turning and walking away.


	25. Disposable

Chapter 25. Disposable

A few hours later, the trees in the woods outside of District 6 began to quake slightly as the Victor's hovercraft flew over them and touched down to the ground. Slowly and very carefully, the craft took its time in hiding itself among the trees and shutting down as to not draw unwanted attention. When all was secure, the Victors and the Bonum soldiers made their way from the hovercraft and toward District 6, Haymitch leading the pack with Gale not too far behind. They walked swiftly with caution for about fifteen minutes before a large, wire fence came into view.

Beyond the electric barrier, the industrial section of District 6 faced them. Countless factories and warehouses blocked their view of the livable section of the district while the black smog in the air from the structures blocked the blue of the sky. Yet the clanking sounds of the machinery inside was almost drowned out by the sounds of the rebellion just beyond their frame of view. Explosions, screams, and gunfire echoed through the woods, sounding all too similar to the sounds of District 12 during their last visit to Panem.

On the opposite side of the fence and as the group grew closer, the figure of a woman stood surrounded by six men. The woman had dark brown eyes and couldn't be older then thirty-five. Haymitch stopped the group at the end of the trees, scanning the fence quickly. It seemed the Peacekeepers were extremely busy with the rebellion, however, as he didn't spot any uniforms. His eyes landed on the small gathering of people who seemed to be waiting, possibly for them. He slowly began to make his way toward them.

The woman, who had been speaking with one of the men near her, almost immediately looked towards Haymitch when he came into view. Her immediate ability to sense his presence was rather remarkable. She turned towards Haymitch, but immediately tugged on the strap across her chest, bringing the automatic machine gun hoisted on her back to her grip and aiming it at the man.

"Who sent you?" she demanded, taking no chances.

Haymitch narrowed his eyes slightly but didn't hold up his hands. He gripped his gun tighter. "Pyrrhus," he said simply, not sure if these people were trustworthy and not wanting to give them any more information than that.

The woman's head tilted slightly as her grip on the gun loosened, but not by much. "President Pyrrhus. Show respect."

Haymitch ignored her, but didn't lower his gun. "Are you Paylor?"

"Are you Hawthorne or Abernathy?"

"Abernathy."

The stand off between the two ended at that. Content that she had the right man before her, Commander Paylor placed her machine gun back to its original position. "I was expecting a squad, Abernathy. I assume you have them hidden. Return to them and we'll lower the fence."

Haymitch nodded once, letting his gun hang back on the strap around his shoulder. He turned and quickly walked back to the soldiers hidden in the trees. Paylor waited only a moment before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small coin sack. She opened the sack slightly as the men surrounding her backed off to a good distance.

"What is she doing?" Chaff asked as he stared from behind the tree, his question aimed at Haymitch.

Haymitch turned to watch the woman as well, curiously. "Lowering the fence."

"Yeah, well, what's dat little coin purse gonna do?"

Paylor turned her attention fully towards the fence. Putting one leg back, so she could run in the opposite direction easier, the woman underhand-tossed the sack towards the fence before rushing back with the men. A few specks of brown and red powder fell out before the bag itself made contact with the electric fence. The material sizzled at first before the current reached the thermite inside and exploded.

Willow actually let out an audible shriek at the explosion before quickly covering her mouth. Still not completely recovered from the explosion in the Arena and Joule's death, she was visibly shaken. Amur immediately wrapped an arm around the girl, trying to calm her down. "Nobody's hurt, Willow."

Willow allowed Amur to comfort her, but couldn't acknowledge him. She closed her eyes quickly, counting backwards from ten mentally to calm herself, before nodding once quickly at Amur in thanks and following Haymitch and the rest of the Victors back to the fence. Or, rather, what was left of the fence. The entire section had been blown to pieces, leaving more than enough room for the entire two squads to make their way in.

Paylor stepped forward again as her men watched the streets and alleyways around them for in-comers. She stopped when she reached Haymitch and extended a hand to shake his. Haymitch glanced up at Paylor and nodded once before shaking her hand. "Nice explosion."

"I can only thank your group for the idea," she replied, letting go once the two shook. Her eyes traveled to the large group of soldiers before her then to the individual Victors.

"Thermite," Katniss said in understanding, causing a small shudder to go through Willow, although she forced it down in front of Paylor so it was barely noticable.

Even Gale seemed to falter slightly at the word. He hadn't been anywhere near Joule when it happened, like Willow had. However, he still had nightmares of those close to him evaporating into a red mist.

Paylor nodded very briefly, her eyes falling specifically towards the Quarter Quell Victors, however. "The second set of survivors," she began, eyeing each one.

Willow's tanned cheeks turned slightly pink, but she just stared Paylor in the eyes as she looked over her, in typical Willow fashion. Paylor, however, shifted her eyes a few times before turning her back towards them. "Informally speaking, thank you for trying to help my sister. On a more strict notion, there is a warehouse we've prepared for you all to stay," she continued, not even giving Gale, Willow, or Amur to chance to reply to her comment.

Willow, however, didn't acknowledge the second part of her statement. "Sister?"

"Sisal," she flatly answered. "We're heading west and sticking to the alleyways to avoid being seen. The location is only a block away and has already been secured."

Willow fell quiet, glancing sideways at Gale at this new piece of information. However, suddenly thinking of Sisal made her think of Madge which made her relive the final battle in the Arena, making it hard for her to breathe. She quickly glanced away and at District 6, silently.

Haymitch cleared his throat awkwardly. "Alright. Lead the way, then."

Amur put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder as Paylor began to lead the group. Her squad of six took a constant lead, checking around every corner for Peacekeepers or soldiers until they finally reached their destination - a very large warehouse. When Paylor opened the door, the reason for its size was quite obvious. Around a hundred current transformers, all still operating and sparking occasionally, lined the walls and area. The group of Victors and soldiers immediately walked into the warehouse. Haymitch eyed the transformers along the walls, raising his eyebrows when one sparked.

"This warehouse serves as one of many power suppliers for the factories," Paylor explained, seeing the look on Haymitch's face. "It is the largest space we could secure for your group."

"And there's no chance any Peacekeepers will come here?"

"There would be no reason we can foresee. None of the riots happen in the industrial section of District 6, they happen closer to the Justice Building and Victor's Village where the train station is set."

Haymitch nodded shortly before eyeing his group. "Good, then. Just no one touch anything."

"We're not children," Johanna protested before finding a place to sit, away from the transformers. As everybody got situated into relatively safe locations, Paylor turned back towards Haymitch as Gale made his way to the two.

"The train will arrive in less then twenty-four hours, but the only place it can station is near Victor's Village," she began explaining to the both of them.

Haymitch nodded at Paylor. "If the unrest continues, we can get through. Gale and Katniss managed it in District 12."

"I don't know what exactly happened in your District, but things here are getting very heated. The soldiers they've been sending have been relentless, inhuman even. The best course of action would be to find a route to sneak you on board the train, not to rush in."

Haymitch thought back to what Pyrrhus said in Bonum and nodded slightly. "We need to be as stealthy as we can anyway. Is there a specific route you had in mind?"

"The only one where they physically cannot touch you." The female commander reached into her pocket, pulling out another coin sack of thermite, before holding it out to him. Haymitch took the sack, but raised his eyebrows at her slightly, questioningly.

"The District is completely fenced in all the way to the point where the train breaks in. The trees in the forest can hide you while the fence that is meant to trap its citizens will also trap the soldiers from reaching you. When you are close enough, set off the explosion, and make way towards the train."

Haymitch nodded, tucking the bag of thermite into one of the hidden pockets that Cinna had designed into his uniform.

"The train will arrive in the later afternoon and should arrive in District 2 around midnight. Getting in and out as fast as possible is vital, but I'm certain you both understand this."

Haymitch nodded shortly. "Is there a more specific time than 'late afternoon'?"

"About 4."

"We'll be there, then."

"Good," she nodded to the two of them. "Then I leave you here. Me and my men have to go aid the rebels in the plaza square. Keep guard at all times, you can never be too safe."

"We will, Commander Paylor. Thanks."

Paylor nodded with a faint grin before turning back to her men. The small group turned and walked out of the warehouse as Gale turned back towards Haymitch. The older Victor watched Paylor leave before looking back at Gale, raising his eyebrows.

"My half will fall back and cover yours from behind. This way you can make sure everybody gets on the train fast enough," Gale stated, his mind racing over all the information Paylor had provided them with. "If something happens, do not hesitate to take the train without my half."

"All due respect, Hawthorne, but that's not happening. We need the entire crew for District 2."

"I'm not asking you to abandon us, _Abernathy_. But you know as well as I do how important you, Katniss, and Peeta are to the war and to this mission specifically. Everybody else is disposable. I'm only going over the possibilities and different scenarios."

"You're not disposable," is all Haymitch replied with. Gale went to continue, but stopped once Haymitch's words sunk in. He stopped, running the older man's words through his mind a few more times before looking up at him, a hint of confusion on his face. Haymitch just looked pointedly at the younger soldier for a few moments before turning and walking over to Johanna and Chaff.

The boy's eyes followed after the older man, but he stayed still, mulling over Haymitch's words one last time before giving himself a small, accomplished smile.


	26. Shock

Chapter 26. Shock

Late into the night, the rebellion outside continued to rage on. Each Victor and the majority of the soldiers had found corners or small spots on the floor to lay on as they all slept, save for two soldiers who guarded the door of the warehouse. All seemed calm on the inside until the roaring sounds of gunshots grew ever closer. It wasn't until the sounds of two men's screams that the danger the group was in was evident.

A group of about thirty Peacekeepers stormed into the warehouse to search for hidden rebels, machine guns in their arms. Gale was among the first to wake from the sounds. His eyes filled with horror after seeing the Peacekeepers from his spot against the wall. He quickly grasped onto his gun and rolled behind the cover of a transformer before firing a few bullets into the group by the door.

A few of the Peacekeepers shuffled backwards, but none fell. Suddenly, their glowing yellow eyes and fangs were visible and it was clear these were mutt Peacekeepers, like the mutt soldiers that invaded Bonum. The rest of the Victors and soldiers woke up from the sudden exchange of gunfire, suddenly alert as they began immediately returning fire.

"Aim for their mouths!" Gale tried to shout towards the rest of the soldiers as he tried to keep his aim straight. Half of the soldiers, tragically, couldn't hear Gale over the gunfire. They continued to shoot at any other place their bullets could reach. The other half who did manage to hear his command began shooting straight at the muttations mouths but the rate wasn't quick enough. The mutts' numbers had dwindled quickly to ten, but they began to close in on the Victors and Bonum soldiers, who were quickly becoming pressed closer and closer together.

Among those Victors and soldiers, Peeta knelt behind a transformer beside Katniss. Since their last gun fight in District 13, he had managed to train and practice better with the weapon but his aim still wasn't ideal. He sent a shower of bullets in the general direction of a mutt Peacekeeper's face before looking up towards Katniss. "We need to do something!"

Katniss was silent for a moment, firing her gun quickly at every mouth she saw. She kept her eyes on a Peacekeeper as her bullet caused his head to explode and she backed up a little more to avoid the blood, her back flush against Peeta's chest. "I have an idea. Cover me, okay?"

Peeta, however, seemed a lot less confident. "What are you going to do?" he demanded first.

"You'll see," she snapped back at him. "Shut up and cover me!"

She didn't give him a chance to respond. She quickly ducked down, dodging between Haymitch and Johanna to get closer to the Peacekeepers. Peeta yelled after her, but it was too late and his voice was lost in the sounds of the chaos. He bit his bottom lip hard before looking back towards the Peacekeepers she grew ever closer to, aiming his gun towards them, only able to pray for the best. Katniss kept her head down to avoid the spray of bullets coming from all sides, but quickly grabbed two Peacekeepers by the back of their uniform shirts. She spun around and threw them hard against one of the transformers against the wall, satisfied when they began to sizzle and seize. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and, a few seconds later, both of them fell to the ground, dead.

Katniss allowed herself a small smile of victory, ignoring the smell and turning back to the crowd of Peacekeepers. As she began to turn, though, fast as lightning, one of the genetically enhanced mutts grabbed her around the waist and slammed her against one of the transformers.

The mutts must not have been bred for intelligence, just their keen sense of death and destruction, because the mutt ended up being electrocuted with the District 12 Victor as a high pitched, bloodcurdling scream left her mouth and filled the warehouse before cutting off as quickly as it started. Peeta's eyes immediately flung wide upon seeing the girl thrown into the transformer. He only managed to scream to her once before getting up and running towards her.

Peeta wasn't the only one to witness the girl's electrocution. Gale was immediately at his feet, but was taking a much more cautious approach than Peeta. The hunter aimed his gun towards the remaining seven mutts, unloading as many bullets as he needed to draw their attention primarily towards him. His heart was beating out of his chest and he could hardly hear anything over the loud sound of his pulse, but he had to stay calm. He had to keep his mind clear and give enough cover for the others to help Katniss. If he was reckless, she would die, if she wasn't already dead.

Haymitch immediately rushed to Katniss's side as well, dropping his gun to the floor. He eyed her body as it fell on top of the fried Peacekeeper's.

She was still, peaceful, but most of all: she wasn't breathing.

Her look was all too familiar to Peeta. It was an expression he had painted countless times, on countless people on canvas. But one he never wanted to see painted on her. He immediately fell to his knees before her, ignoring the tears that were already falling and the breaths he was forgetting to take. He grasped her shoulders with shaking hands and leaned down, trying to hear or feel her breath over the sound of bullets. It's absence nearly threw him into a fit as he started to shake her. "Katniss! KATNISS!"

Haymitch quickly grasped Peeta's shoulder tightly in his hand, even as his own eyes started to tear up, half-heartedly trying to stop him from shaking her. "She's gone, Peeta! Let her go!"

"SHE'S NOT!" he screamed, pushing Haymitch off his shoulder before dropping his head to the motionless girl beside him. His forehead touched hers for only a second before two hands grasped onto the painter and practically threw him off her.

Peeta hit the ground so fast and hard, the world around him almost began to spin. The painter had never been pushed around like that and he immediately looked up, baffled as to who had the strength to push him so hard. While he found his answer, he suddenly became even more confused as he saw Amur kneel down beside the girl, his mouth pressed to hers. Haymitch made a choking sound as he fell backwards to the ground, mainly in shock. Seeing Amur's much older, larger frame over the small, fragile, unmoving Mockingjay was enough to send anyone into shock. "Oh, what the hell?"

Amur pulled his head up from Katniss, checking her once for breaths. When he felt none, he immediately unzipped the leather padded jacket of her Mockingjay uniform, ignoring the even more outraged and shocked looks he was certain Haymitch and Peeta were giving him. The jacket clearly protected her chest from the burns that were beginning to form on her neck, but he didn't have enough time to assess any other damage from that. Once able to get at her chest, the fisherman began pushing down hard and fast, trying to get any sort of response. She remained unresponsive.

Willow finally shot the final Peacekeeper directly in the eye and watched with satisfaction as he fell to the ground. She quickly turned to look at Amur, probably the only one in the room who was aware of what he was doing. At her side, his machine gun dropped to the ground as Gale stared over at the scene. His dark skin paled as he began to shake almost as much as Peeta was. The hunter wasted no more time before running towards the scene, trying to count the steps he took to get there but constantly losing track of the number, losing his focus.

Amur never let up. He leaned down again, trying to force air into the Mockingjay's lungs as the hunter ran to stand beside Peeta and Haymitch. All the three and everybody else in the room could do was watch, not understanding whatever it was the fisherman did, but no longer questioning in hopes of a miracle.

After a few more minutes, suddenly Katniss's gray eyes snapped open as she coughed loudly into Amur's mouth. Amur jumped slightly before pulling his head back. Regardless of her cough, Amur still grabbed onto her wrist, checking her pulse as if he was making certain she was really awake. The pulse that had previously been absent began to thump in Katniss's wrist again, albeit slightly faster than normal. Katniss's head suddenly fell back against the fried Peacekeeper beneath her, weakly.

"Katniss!" Gale and Peeta both called out to her in unison, both afraid if she closed her eyes again, they'd never open. Racing to her sides, Gale knelt down beside her first, lifting her head up gently as Peeta lifted then threw aside the muttation's corpse that was under her. Once clear from the sight and smell of the fried corpse, Peeta knelt down on Katniss's opposite side, putting a hand on her cheek lightly. Gale was too shaken up and concerned with the girl in his arms to even care enough about his and Peeta's rivalry right now.

"Catnip, h-hey."

"Keep your eyes open, Katniss, please."

Katniss opened her eyes at Gale's voice. Her eyes met Peeta's watery blue eyes first before turning to Gale's gray gaze. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Wh... what happened?" she asked, hoarsely, her eyes quickly filling up with tears as the pain from the burn on her neck filled her senses. Both boys let out a relieved sigh as a few of the medic soldiers rushed around them.

Gale looked back towards them while Peeta removed his hand from her cheek, not wanting to accidentally pain her more. "Y-you were thrown into the transformer... You stopped breathing, I tried to wake you but..."

Katniss instantly grabbed both the boys' hands weakly, looking up at Peeta. "I... I d-died?"

Gale's head turned back down towards her, but Peeta continued. "You... I guess... Amur rushed over and did... something that got you breathing again..."

"You're okay now," Gale whispered softly, trailing his thumb over her fingers to try and comfort her as one of the medics knelt down behind her head. Carefully, the medic pushed the collar of the black undershirt she wore down and began to apply a cold, numbing gel to the burns on her neck. Her eyes met Gale's for a moment until she winced, closing her eyes tightly when the cold gel met her burnt skin.

"Amur did CPR," Willow stated softly to Katniss from behind Gale. She turned to smile slightly at the large man. "And did a really good job."

Amur, who was still sitting on the floor but away from the three to give them their space, gave a slight smile up towards Willow. He nodded thankfully towards her for the compliment, before turning towards Haymitch. "Mr. Abernathy, are we still going to make it to the train on time?"

Haymitch turned his eyes away from Katniss and looked at Amur. He paused thoughtfully, but took a moment too long.

"Yes," Katniss answered for her mentor.

"No," Gale replied, looking down at Katniss sternly. "There's no way you can move and no possible way you're going to be able to carry out this mission like that. You died, Katniss. You can't even argue with me on this."

Katniss winced as the word "died" came out of Gale's mouth. She looked up at him, furrowing her eyebrows stubbornly. "I'm fine. I have to get Thread."

"Katniss, Gale's right," Peeta said softly, looking towards Gale briefly before looking back down at her. He lightly pushed some strands of her hair back. "The plan was for this to happen tomorrow night. You won't be better by then."

"You don't know that," Katniss tried to snap back, turning her eyes to Peeta, but even as she did so, her voice was weak and shaky.

"I do, Katniss. Please."

"What else can we do? We can't... _not _go, not after all this."

Gale turned his attention towards Haymitch, contemplating. He weighed his options in his mind, glancing around the room at all the soldiers around them before turning back towards the Mockingjay in his arms. "I'll go with Haymitch. You stay with Peeta on the craft."

"What? No!" Katniss suddenly felt a shock of panic go through her body as she quickly sat up on her elbows, ignoring the light headed feeling she got.

"Katniss!" Peeta tried to calm her, but Gale merely lifted her up slightly higher so she didn't rest her weight on her damaged arms.

"You're in no condition and you're not the only one who has a vendetta against him, Katniss. Haymitch and I were put in charge of the strategy on this mission and I'm telling you that you can't go. This isn't me trying to protect you, you're _too hurt_. You were too reckless and you wouldn't make it back alive if you continued this."

Katniss let out a soft sob at this, looking up at him tortuously. "You can't _do_ this to me. Gale, it isn't fair!"

"You'll die, permanently, if I let you go. I have to do this."

"I'm not going to die! I promise, I swear, _please_..."

The hunter turned his head away from her. He hated telling her no, which was why he rarely did, but this was different. Very carefully so not to hurt her burns, he laid her down on the floor before standing up. He moved slightly out of the way so the medics could get to her better before turning towards Haymitch. Katniss let out a sob as the medics blocked Gale from her eyes and she turned her head slightly, burying her face against Peeta's knees, feeling like the one thing she had been looking forward to had sudden been stripped away from her.

Haymitch winced at the noises the girl was making before turning slightly to look at Gale. He lowered his voice. "Good call."

"Doesn't feel like it."

"I know. But you know you did the right thing. She'll get over it."

Gale looked over his shoulder only briefly towards her and Peeta before shaking his head. "No... no, she won't."


	27. Disobedience

Chapter 27. Disobedience

All throughout the night, nobody slept for fear of another muttation attack. With their location compromised, everybody was on high alert and fully armed, with the exception of a small group of medics who were working hard on Katniss. Being suppliers of Panem's medications, the Bonum soldiers were well equipped and managed to dull all the pain in Katniss's body with a mixture of morphling and numbing gels.

Johanna glared towards the Mockingjay with envy from a distance, contemplating swiping a few syringes. Haymitch, however, kept a close watch on the woman, making sure she didn't take any of the medicine. Not because he cared about her vices, because that would make him a hypocrite, but because Katniss needed it more.

Katniss curled up into a small ball with difficulty once the medics had finished working on her. She quickly turned away from all the Victors, soldiers, and medics and faced her corner. She wasn't angry with Gale, but she felt as if all the will she had to keep going was draining from her body. As she curled into her corner, a hand reached down, lightly tracing fingers down the injured girl's braid. Peeta sat down behind her, still shaken up by the entire situation and just needing to be near her. He needed proof that she was still alive. There was a brief pause before Katniss rolled over and set her head on Peeta's lap. The Mockingjay curled one of her hands into his shirt, sniffling. Apart from the entire Thread ordeal, it was suddenly sinking in that she had _died_ and been brought back. She wasn't sure how to handle it, but she knew she needed comfort. And Peeta was more than willing to be the one to give her that comfort she needed. The painter looked down at her, continuing to run his fingers over her hair while he gently rubbed the spot on her back where the leather padding protected her flesh from burning.

"You're o-okay now, Katniss..." he tried, but his voice cracked over his words.

"I should have... listened to you. I was reckless," Katniss whispered softly against Peeta's thigh, looking up at him slowly, ashamed.

"That's just how you are..." Peeta let his hand slide down to her cheek, lightly resting it there. "You have the strength to take risks like that and always bounce back when things go wrong. I admire that about you, I really do..."

She just shook her head, looking back away from him. "I wouldn't have bounced back this time without Amur. It was _stupid_. I've never actually thought I was actually going to die before and this time, I did."

"But you're okay now. You're here, alive. You're okay."

Katniss paused before turning her eyes back up towards his. Sensing his distress and need for assurance that she was okay, she turned her head slightly to press her lips against the palm of his hand, nodding briefly. "I'm okay, Peeta."

Peeta's face softened as he relaxed against her lips. He smiled down towards her before Gale stood up from not too far. The hunter looked around towards all the soldiers.

"We'll need to be moving soon."

Katniss's slight smile against Peeta's palm disappeared. She turned her head slightly to look at Gale, but the hunter did all he could to avoid her gaze. He felt horribly guilty for telling her no, knowing how badly she wanted to go. He turned toward Haymitch. "We'll stick to the plan for now, but when we hit District 2 and I accompany you, I'm putting Amur and Willow in charge of the other soldiers while we go for Thread. Sound reasonable?"

Willow smiled widely at the thought of being in charge while Haymitch nodded, getting to his feet. "We better leave now if we want to be on time."

Gale gave them all a brief nod. He finally turned his gaze towards Katniss and Peeta, biting hard on the inside of his cheek. Slowly, he walked over to them, kneeling down beside her. "Catnip, I..."

Katniss sat up slightly and lifted her head from Peeta's leg. She stared at Gale hard for a moment before glancing away. "I understand. It's okay."

"I'm so sorry, Catnip. I know it's not okay and I know you probably hate me for this..."

She turned her eyes back up to him and smiled very slightly. "I could never hate you, Gale. I love you. I just... this... this was my fault. I guess you were right about me needing protection... Just make him suffer for me, okay?"

The hunter frowned, but gave her a small nod. Gently, he leaned down, giving her a brief kiss on the forehead. Peeta, who was still holding the injured girl, turned his head away slightly. However, once Gale pulled his head up, he looked directly towards the painter. "Take care of her."

Peeta stared right back at Gale, hesitantly, contemplatively. Finally, he gave him a nod with a very slight smile. "Don't worry. I'll do what's best for her."

Katniss suddenly smiled, looking up at both Gale and Peeta. "I guess I need to die more often if it makes you two get along."

"Don't," they both reprimanded her before staring at each other briefly.

"It was a joke...," Katniss mumbled quietly before looking away from them.

Gale, however, gave the two of them a brief chuckle. He got up after giving the girl one more kiss on the cheek and made his way towards the group of soldiers. Peeta turned to watch as the groups began to organize. Katniss just bit her lip and watched Gale, worriedly. She turned her eyes up toward Peeta, shakily sitting all the way up. "So, we're supposed to go to the hovercraft?"

"Yeah, once the group leaves," he replied as he wrapped an arm around her waist to help support her. Even though she wasn't hurting anymore, he could only imagine how drained she felt.

Katniss leaned against Peeta slightly, thankful he was there for her, that he was always there for her, like a constant rock to rely on. She still dreaded having to go back to the craft, though. The thought upset her, having to sit back and wait for the news of Thread's death as she had to sit in the landed vehicle. A spark of hope jolted through her as a new plan formed suddenly in her mind. She pushed back the excitement though and continued playing into her remorseful, depressed act. "At least I'll have you, then."

Peeta flashed the Mockingjay a smile before sliding his other arm under her legs. He could see the soldiers all exiting the building from the corner of his eye and knew the time to move would be soon. Carrying her carefully, he got up and held her closely to his chest, trying to make her comfortable. She tightly wrapped her arms around the blond boy's neck, tucking her head down against his chest. Haymitch directed Willow and Johanna out after Amur before glancing back at Peeta. "Be as quick and quiet as you can. And don't leave the hovercraft for any reason, got it?"

The blond looked towards Haymitch with a nod. "Don't worry about us. Good luck."

* * *

><p>The craft was had never been so quiet and empty. With only the two of them inside, only the sounds of Peeta's loud footsteps echoed through the hallways. Going to one of the medical rooms, Peeta laid Katniss down gently before turning on a light. Katniss pressed her lips together after Peeta set her down and looked sideways at him for a moment. "Why are we in here?"<p>

"I figured you'd want to rest," the blond shrugged. "Do you want something to drink?"

She paused for a moment before biting her bottom lip. Katniss nodded, wanting him to leave. It would make this so much easier. She was relieved when the boy gave her a brief smile before stepping out of the room, leaving her alone to put her plan into action. She let out a sigh before pushing herself shakily to a sit on the bed, swinging her legs over the side. She hopped down and quickly, or as fast as she could given the circumstance, dashed out of the room and down the hallway. It took all the strength in her body to move, but she was too determined and stubborn to stop.

She ran down the hallway as fast as she could, skidding around a few corners until she reached the control room. She quickly pushed the door open and ran to the main console, holding her chest. The huntress panted heavily from the exertion on her weakened body, before falling weakly into the pilot's chair, inspecting the buttons. She didn't get to look for too long. A few seconds after she sat, the door swung open again. Peeta stepped in, holding the glass of water in his right hand, holding the doorknob with his left. "Katniss?"

"Go away, Peeta," she replied, scanning the console for a little while longer before randomly pressing some buttons.

"Katniss, you can't..."

"Shut up, Peeta! I'm going and you can't stop me!"

The blond walked out and suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her from pushing the buttons. He leaned down with his other hand before turning the ignition switch. "You can't just press random buttons. They're labelled."

There was a long, awkward pause after the hovercraft suddenly roared to life. Katniss turned her eyes up to the blond after a moment and slowly smiled before grasping the front of his shirt and pulling his lips down to hers. The boy's face turned a bright red, not expecting the sudden action. He returned her kiss immediately though, ignoring the heat in his cheeks, before pulling back after a minute. "You have to promise me something, Katniss."

She looked up at him, still smiling, although it had lessened slightly in worry of his question. "What's that?"

"Promise you'll let me go with you to Thread."

Katniss's smile became more genuine and she nodded quickly, immediately. "Anything you want."


	28. Adrenaline

Chapter 28. Adrenaline

It took the two a long time to figure out the controls of the hovercraft. Luckily, at some point, Peeta had managed to discover a manual that he assumed Plutarch placed in the craft for the runaways. After a few unlucky attempts and research later, the District 12 Victors managed to figure out how to lift off the vehicle.

Peeta was at the controls when the horizon came in to view. Smoke was rising from the fence near District 6's Victor's Village and the two assumed that meant Haymitch, Gale, and the soldiers had managed to get to the station. A train had already taken off into the distance. Peeta stared out the windshield before looking up towards Katniss. "You have a plan?"

Katniss sat next to Peeta, anxiously squinting at the train. She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before leaning back in her chair. "Not exactly. I didn't think that far."

The blond paused, giving Katniss a dumbfounded look, before laughing, nevously. "Oh... I wish Haymitch was here."

"I never claimed to be smart," She smiled at him slightly before pulling her feet up onto the seat. "I don't think there's a way to do this that won't get us a lot of attention."

"We need to make sure the craft doesn't get destroyed. It's our only way back to Bonum..."

She sat there for a few more minutes, silently, before turning to look at Peeta from the window. "We could land outside District 2 and follow the train in as it goes through the mountain. It's dark, no one would even see us."

The thought, however, sent shivers down his spin. "You want us to... run on the train tracks?"

"It's the only way, Peeta..."

The painter sighed heavily, putting a hand on his forehead to calm himself. He tried to think, trying his very hardest to think of an alternative way. When nothing came to his mind, he just nodded.

* * *

><p>The entire ride took them an hour. Peeta drove the entire way, keeping a good distance from the train so not to raise suspicions. The last thing they needed was for the Victors to think they were Panem soldiers, tailing them. Those fears vanished once the train shot through the dark tunnel at the base of the mountains surrounding District 2. Katniss dropped her feet back to the floor of the hovercraft when the mountains were in sight. She sat up straighter, scanning the skyline for a moment. "Just land somewhere discreet."<p>

Peeta nodded in compliance before searching the area. He found them a forested area not far from the tunnel where he ungracefully landed the vehicle. The craft shook violently with his parking job but no damage was done to the craft, luckily. The blond looked at Katniss with a sheepish grin. "Sorry..."

The Mockingjay just sent him an affectionate smile before standing up and holding her hand out to him, wordlessly asking him if he was ready. His sheepish smile went genuine as he took her hand. He squeezed it slightly before standing up.

"I'll carry you," he suggested suddenly. "So you have the strength when we face Thread."

Katniss furrowed her eyebrows before shaking her head. "I'll be okay."

He shook his head. "No, it won't. You're very light. I can still run with you."

She pressed her lips together, swallowing her pride. She nodded once. "But only because I know I'll probably slow us down right now."

Peeta nodded before sliding his arm around her waist again, like he did in the warehouse. He curled his arm under her legs before sweeping her up into his arms and started out of the craft. Katniss wrapped her arms around his neck, but didn't tuck her head against his chest like she had previously. Instead, she kept her face forward, on constant alert.

The painter wasted as little time as possible. He wasn't sure if the train was set to stop and wait for the mission to end or if it was going to continue on, but he knew he had to be fast. Peeta didn't want to face the reality of the second scenario. He only stopped once. After emerging from the forest surrounding the mountains, he found himself face to face with the railroad tracks. Slowly, he turned his attention back down to the girl in his arms. "Ready?"

She turned her head to glance at the tracks for a moment before looking up at Peeta, nodding once, strongly. "Ready."

He held his breath to calm his nerves before dashing into the tunnel. Inside was pitch black. The only evidence that the two were going the correct way were the metal bars on the tracks beneath Peeta's feet. A few times, his boot toes dipped between the bars threatening to trip him, but every time, he used the momentum of his stumble to press on faster. His heart was thumping so rapidly he was certain Katniss could hear it and he cursed the fact that his feet couldn't move as fast as his heart.

Katniss kept her eyes focused ahead of them until they entered the tunnel. Suddenly, immersed in the darkness, her palms began to sweat against the back of Peeta's neck and anxiety rose up in her chest. She quickly pressed her face against Peeta's shoulder, shaking slightly when Peeta's clumsy feet would catch on the track. Immediately, she began to think maybe it wasn't the best idea to have him carry her.

The tunnel seemed to go on forever. With every footstep, more and more doubt and regret filled Peeta. However, a small ray of hope came in the shape of a light in the distance. The painter gave a sigh of relief upon seeing it.

"There's the end!" he exclaimed, but any other words from the male's voice were drowned out by the thunderous vibrations that suddenly surrounded the two. Peeta's heart dropped as his ray of hope extinguished. The light wasn't the end of the tunnel; it was the train.

Katniss's eyes widened at the light that suddenly shined on their faces. She wasn't one to freeze in the face of danger, however. She quickly dropped her legs from Peeta's arms and pushed him off the tracks, flat against the rock wall of the tunnel. Peeta's back hit the wall hard but he knew he couldn't hesitate anymore. He quickly wrapped one arm around her waist and put his other hand on the back of her head, pulling her as close as possible.

Almost immediately, the train began to fly passed them. The forceful winds the vehicle emitted threatened to knock them down, but Peeta refused to fall. He dug his feet deep into the dirt under his feet and pressed all his weight onto his back so hard, it actually hurt. Katniss gritted her teeth against the sudden wind and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, certain if she released him for only a moment, she would be knocked to the ground in her debilitated condition.

After another long five minutes, the train finally ended and passed the two. Peeta continued to cling to the Mockingjay cradled in his chest, afraid to let her go. Slowly, he leaned his forehead down, resting it against hers. He was panting, the adrenaline still surging through his body, on the verge of a breakdown. However, her well-being still outweighed his own.

"K-Katniss, are you a-alright?" he breathed, his hand on the back of her head trailing down her back to make certain she hadn't been hit.

Katniss opened her eyes when she felt his forehead against hers and looked up into his eyes. She pressed her lips together for a brief moment before lifting a hand to the side of his neck, wanting to comfort him like his hand on her back was doing to her. "I'm... I'm o-okay. Are you?"

The painter sighed heavily as he embraced her tightly again and nodded. "Th-thank God. We s-should hurry before another train comes."

The Mockingjay, however, frowned slightly. "Are you sure? Maybe... maybe we need to take a break, you don't look so good."

"I'll be better when we're out of here, t-trust me."

She nodded slightly and let go of him, ignoring the sudden lack of warmth she felt, unsure of what it meant. "If you're sure."

The painter nodded before pulling her close again. He lifted her once more into his arms, but before continuing on, he gave her a brief kiss. "I'm sorry, I j-just had to do that."

Katniss just smiled at him when his lips left hers and she shook her head gently. "Don't apologize for that."

As he straightened up, he flashed her a brief smile but it was lost in the returning darkness of the tunnel. Keeping close to the wall now to use as a guide, Peeta turned and began to run as fast as he could towards the exit.

Fortunately, the end of the tunnel wasn't far off from their location. Utilizing the adrenaline rush that never ceased in the painter's body, he pushed through until the two emerged in District 2. Katniss quickly let her eyes adjust from the darkness as they exited the tunnel.

The sounds of gunfire welcomed them. At the station itself, the Bonum soldiers led by Amur and Willow were engaged in combat already with the Peacekeepers of the District. From where they stood, it was impossible to tell if the opposition were muttations or otherwise, but at the rate they fell, it was safe to assume Panem was ill prepared for the attack.

Her eyes quickly scanned the various Victors and soldiers in combat and, as much as she wanted to join them, she knew she couldn't. "Run left! Toward the center of the District!"

Peeta didn't hesitate. Following her instructions, he began to dash into the District, trying to stick to the alleyways like they had in District 6. "Get your gun ready, just in case. I can't fire holding you like this."

She just nodded briefly, awkwardly shifting in his arms to pull her gun around to hold tightly in front of her. After she had successfully managed it, she held it in front of them with one hand, holding onto the back of Peeta's neck with the other. The painter continued with a bit more confidence, though his legs were beginning to tire from the rush. Ignoring all his fatigue, Peeta pressed on at a significantly slower pace. The sight of two familiar figures in the distance, however, slowed him down even more so.

"Katniss, I can see Haymitch and Gale."

She looked up at Peeta before turning her eyes on the two men. Sneaking through the alleyways in a similar fashion to the two, Haymitch and Gale took caution in their movements less than a block from their position. She pressed her lips together. "Should we keep our distance?"

"No," Peeta shook his head. "They'll find out we're here eventually."

She paused and nodded after a moment, albeit slightly nervously. "That's true. Here, let me down so I don't look so weak. Plus, you look like you can barely move your legs."

Peeta complied and put the girl down gently. Grabbing his gun from his back, he turned towards her. "Don't surprise them. We don't want to accidentally provoke them into shooting us. Make it known we're here while we're at a distance."

Katniss nodded slightly. She thought for a moment before holding her hands up to her mouth and whistling out a few notes that she and Gale used to use when hunting in District 12 to not spook the animals. At the half a block away where Haymitch and Gale walked, the dark haired general froze. He knew that sound all too well and, of all the noises in the world, it was the last he wanted to hear. He immediately gripped onto the older man's arm to stop him, his heart sinking. Haymitch paused, glancing back at Gale. At the look on the hunter's face, he felt a small amount of panic. "Gale? What's wrong?"

"Don't let me use all my bullets. I need to save one for Peeta," he hissed before slowly turning his head back, looking down the alleyways behind them.

"Peeta? What..." Haymitch trailed off as Katniss and Peeta slowly came into view from the darkness. "Dammit."

Gale's grip on his gun tightened as he turned fully to face the two, his face red with anger. Peeta gulped once they were close enough to see his expression, knowing bringing Katniss here was unforgivable to Gale. But, frankly, he knew the two had to be here. Speeding his walk slightly so he stood before Katniss, the painter went first to Haymitch and Gale to take the brunt of their glares and accept responsibility. Katniss, of course, elbowed Peeta to the side, standing next to him and raising her chin defiantly. "Let's go, then."

"You two shouldn't be here," Gale barked, stepping closer to them.

"Yes, we should. We have more of a right to this than either of you," Peeta declared with more defiance in his voice than he's ever shown in his life, catching the hunter by surprise. "What Thread took from us cannot be returned. Now, let's go."


	29. Speechless

Chapter 29. Speechless

Katniss glanced up at Peeta in surprise as well before setting a hand comfortingly on his back. "We're already here, so let's save this argument for later."

The painter gave her a brief nod before turning towards Haymitch, looking for guidance. Haymitch turned his eyes away from Gale's tense expression and looked at Katniss and Peeta. He tilted his head in the direction of a large white building across the city square. "Thread is supposed to be in that building. We need to get in and out as quickly as possible before he catches on to the battle going on at the train station and decides he needs backup."

Gale turned his attention towards Haymitch and nodded, trying to deal with the fact that Katniss was there. He knew he had to keep his full attention on the mission, but now he had a personal mission to protect her at all costs. "Lead the way."

The older Victor nodded before looking at Peeta specifically. "And, please, try to be quiet."

He didn't allow the boy a chance to respond before taking off quickly toward the building, sticking to the shadows along the sides of the square, wanting to get this over as quickly as possible. As much as he wanted to get Effie, the fact that they now had two more people, one who was loud and mainly useless while the other was extremely injured, just made the situation more stressful.

As the group grew closer, the building came into view. The Justice Building, unsurprisingly, was much larger than any other from all the Districts to the point that calling it a building wouldn't be fair. The entire structure resembled a plaza more than anything else. A large courtyard laid in the middle with a fountain and beautiful landscape while white pillars held up outdoor corridors that led to about ten large white doors. Panem certainly treated their Peacekeepers in much grander manner than their citizens.

But the four were in luck. Many of the Peacekeepers had been called to the battle at the station and the security seemed light in the complex. A few citizens walked through the corridors, a few easily recognizable from a variety of broadcasts the small group had watched while in Bonum. Haymitch ducked behind one of the pillars, glancing toward the citizens. He turned slightly to look at the three younger Victors, but mainly Gale, lowering his voice so it was barely audible. "_Don't shoot _unless it's absolutely necessary. We don't need to kill unarmed innocents."

"Of course," Gale looked up at him from behind the pillar as well. "Nor do we need the unwanted attention."

Haymitch nodded once before watching the citizens for a few moments. He waited until they passed one of the large white doors before sprinting for it. The remainder of the group followed after the older Victor closely, guns in arms and prepared. Haymitch quickly wrenched open the door before sprinting inside and glancing around the corner.

Inside the white walled hallway beyond the doors, the citizens had vanished, presumably into one of the many doors in the hall. However, none of that mattered. What mattered the most and stood out more than anything in the corridor was the silver haired woman who carried a black calendar book in her right hand, heading towards one of the doors at the very end of the hallway.

What happened after Haymitch saw Effie was nothing like he had originally imagined in his mind.

In his mind, it had just been him and Katniss. Katniss had gone off somewhere, probably to take on Thread herself, Haymitch didn't care for the specifics. He, however, had suavely said Effie's name, just once. As soon as Effie saw him, she had ran toward him and launched herself into his arms, her beautiful face alight with happiness, and she planted his face with dozens of kisses.

In reality, however, Haymitch was dirty and sweaty with a gun over his shoulder. His feet automatically began to sprint toward the silver haired escort without thought or preamble, leaving his three comrades behind him. He grasped her wrist, desperately, unable to speak as panic and joy simultaneously threatened to choke him.

Effie jumped the second she was grabbed, shaking even from the surprise. She turned on her heel immediately, the alarm on her face suddenly turning into panic. Without a word, the woman pulled her hand from his grasp and jumped back against the door she was in front of, grasping for the doorknob as she pressed her back against the woodwork. Not an ounce of happiness was found on her face but, instead, there was urgency and panic.

As abruptly as it had come, the light disappeared from Haymitch's eyes. Suddenly, he became acutely aware of the possibly that Katniss might have been right all along. He curled the hand that had been on her wrist to a fist and he dropped it to his side. "E-Effie..."

Slowly, the woman began to shake her head, still staying eerily silent. The next second, the doorknob in her hand turned, surprising even her. The instant she let go of the door, Thread pulled the door the rest of the way open, looking towards Haymitch over the woman's shoulder. With a smirk, he grabbed Effie's waist, half using her as a human shield and half pulling her against him tauntingly. "Abernathy, I've been expecting you."

Regardless, Haymitch instantly raised his gun toward Thread and Effie, eyes narrowing. "It's nice to know your life revolves around me, Thread."

"Don't flatter yourself. I just assumed a cockroach like yourself couldn't resist coming after her. And it seems I was right," he laughed before pulling out a handgun of his own. He pointed the gun over Effie's shoulder towards Haymitch, causing the woman's eyes to widen.

Haymitch faltered slightly, glancing at Effie. Unable to deny Thread's comment, he just tightened his grip on his gun. "I came to kill you, Thread, and I'm not leaving until that mission is completed."

"Funny, I have a similar agenda. But," he put his head over Effie's other shoulder, causing the woman to quiver slightly with anxiety. Thread grinned as he put the gun directly in front of her face, still trained at Haymitch. "I won't be the one taking you out."

Haymitch let out a bark of laughter. "Effie can't shoot anyone!"

"Really?" he laughed before looking at the woman. "Take the gun, Effie."

The woman's shakes only grew more violent, on the verge of tears, but somehow managing to hold them in. Slowly, she reached up and took the weapon in her hand, keeping the aim where Thread had it as the man released it.

Haymitch furrowed his eyebrows, the gun he had aimed on Thread's forehead falling slightly. He took a step backwards, as if about to run in the opposite direction. As he began to back up, Effie's expression turned to desperation. Trying to be discreet, the woman began to mouth secret words to him, almost like she was begging for something but the way her mouth moved formed no readable sentences.

"I..." He furrowed his eyebrows more, as if trying to understand her. "Effie, I don't understand. Just... please... please don't."

He figured if anything would get her to lower that gun from him, it was manners. Effie, however, didn't lower the gun. A few tears actually began to fall down her cheeks as she continued to silently beg him. Her eyes went wide, however, as Thread put his hands back on her waist.

"Shoot him," Thread commanded. And Effie had no choice but to obey. The bullet soared from the shaky gun, firing right into the man before her's shoulder.

Haymitch's eyes widened in recognition of what Effie was trying to do a moment too late. As soon as the bullet hit him, he stumbled backwards and hit the ground, letting out a gasp of pain as his shoulder shattered for the second time in less than a year.

Effie would have fallen over from the shock of her actions if Thread hadn't been holding her up. Tears fell down her cheeks harder than ever before as she brought both her hands over her mouth in absolute horror. Thread, however, smirked. He wasn't done with this yet.

"Effie, I said you were going to take him out, didn't I?" he laughed as he pushed the woman forward slightly. Effie immediately fell to her knees between the two men, eyes wide and red. She slowly tried to bring the gun up, but she was on the verge of fainting from the stress.

Suddenly, a small flash of black darted from around the corner, tackling the woman completely to the ground. Katniss, in a fit of adrenaline from seeing her mentor bleeding on the ground, began wrestling the gun from her.

Effie didn't put up much of a fight. Even if she did, she wouldn't have had the strength in her to try anything. As Effie fell back to the ground, her loosely fit wig fell from her head as her medium lengthed wavy hair, which had been dyed the same golden color as her old wig, came into view. Katniss jerked the gun from her hands and stood up instantly, pointing it directly at her former escort. However, her hands were shaking and tears instantly jumped to her eyes at the sight of Effie's hair. The disbelief of Effie's actions, however, overshadowed anything else happening at the moment. "How... how could you? He loves you!"

Effie didn't even try to speak. Putting both her trembling hands over her mouth, the woman began to cry even harder, yet emitted no sound. She closed her eyes, anticipating a hopefully quick death from the Victor above her. Katniss stood there for a few moments, staring down at Effie with her arms trembling, before turning the gun quickly toward Thread. She shot him directly in the throat.

The smirk on Thread's face vanished immediately. Blood suddenly started pouring from the man's neck, staining his white clothes as he fell back into the room he was standing partially in. His hands grasped the wound, trying to stop the blood, but it was pouring way too fast and the blood was filling his esophagus.

Katniss dropped the former Peacekeeper's gun noisily onto the floor before stepping over to Thread. She grasped the front of his bloody shirt tightly in her hand before slamming his head against the floor. "That's what you get for crossing the Mockingjay, _sir_."

Thread's head slammed hard against the floor. The instant he was out cold, Peeta rushed towards the scene while Gale kept guard at the door in case other Peacekeepers were on their way. The blond rushed immediately towards Haymitch's side.

"Dammit," Peeta muttered before pulling off his jacket then the undershirt. He began to wrap the shirt around his shoulder to stop the bleeding. Katniss went to walk over to assist Peeta, but blushed when he took off his shirt. She decided to stay where she was, averting her eyes. Haymitch removed his hand from his shoulder to allow Peeta complete access to his shoulder. As the painter attempted his best with Haymitch, the older Victor glanced away and looked at Effie.

Shame and sorrow filled the former escort. The woman had curled herself up in a ball on her side, hugging her knees tightly and sobbing in silence. Her back was facing Haymitch and the others as she cried, wishing that Katniss would have just shot her.

Haymitch gritted his teeth and pulled away from Peeta, sitting up with a sharp intake of breath at the pain. He hesitated for a brief moment before reaching out his good arm and setting his hand gently on Effie's back. The woman let out a sharp gasp as her entire body tensed.

"Haymitch, you shouldn't move," Peeta tried, but couldn't help but stare between the two.

"Shut up, Mellark." Haymitch didn't look at the boy; he just moved his hand to Effie's hair, lowering his voice. "I would never order you to do anything, Effie. I know that's what you wanted me to do, but I would never."

Slowly, the woman loosened up and turned her head back to look at him. She was still shaking violently and her eyes were wide, but her tears were starting to lessen.

"I'm sorry," he suddenly choked out, touching her cheek gently. "I shouldn't have taken so long. Maybe I could have saved you from... _this._"

The woman shook her head suddenly as she brought herself up. She knelt down in front of him, grasping onto the hand on her cheek tightly with both hands. She looked him in the eyes sadly before trailing her eyes to his bleeding shoulder that was wrapped with Peeta's shirt.

"It's not your fault, Effie. I don't blame you," Haymitch paused before pressing his lips gently against her forehead.

"Why wouldn't you blame her?" Katniss suddenly asked from behind them. She didn't sound mad, just curious and confused.

Haymitch just pulled his lips from Effie's forehead and looked down at her sadly. "Because she's an Avox."


	30. Leadership

Chapter 30. Leadership

Slowly, Effie reached both her hands up, resting them on Haymitch's cheeks. She stared into his eyes for a long time, sadness still evident but a small, hollow smile spread across her face. With Thread gone now, she finally felt that maybe she'd have her free will back and could let herself be happy. She quickly slid her arms around his neck and hugged onto him tightly, burying her face in his chest. She didn't care that she couldn't talk right now. She was more than happy just being near him again. Haymitch let out a soft laugh when Effie hugged him. He quickly wrapped his functioning arm around her waist, pulling her closer against him and pressing his face into her golden hair.

Katniss, however, stared at Haymitch and Effie. Her face began to burn in embarrassment. She was blaming Effie for being heartless and, here she was, an Avox. She didn't even know how to begin the apologies she owed to Peeta, Haymitch, and, most of all, Effie. She would have to figure it out later, however.

Gale immediately turned his attention back down the hallway, looking toward the four of them. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to hurry back and get to the train before the Peacekeepers discover us. They've certainly heard the gunfire and I'm sure are on their way back."

Haymitch pulled away slightly from Effie, looking down at her with the kind of soft smile reserved only for her. He nodded once before shakily getting to his feet and holding his hand out to her. The golden haired woman flashed a smile back before immediately taking his hand. She pulled herself up, not really needing his assistance, but just wanting to feel the warmth between their fingers. Effie gave the area a very fast, but thorough, glance before turning back towards Haymitch. Without any warning, she leaned up and pressed her lips against his, quickly and briefly. Haymitch pressed his lips together when she pulled away against another smile. He couldn't hide, however, the tears that glossed over his eyes when she kissed him. For so long, he had thought he would never seen her again, let alone feel her lips against his. He kissed the tip of her nose quickly before turning back to Gale. "Alright, let's go."

Gale gave Haymitch a quick nod with a small smile before scanning the area outside the door again. They had completed both their mission from Bonum and Haymitch's personal mission, but the hardest part was still to come: Getting out alive.

In the corridors on the outside, the area seemed rather clear but it was the courtyard that posed the most danger. Gale had been right in assuming the gunshots fired would draw attention as seven Peacekeepers began to rush from near the fountain in the yard's center in their direction.

"There's seven Peacekeepers making their way here," he informed, looking back to the four of them. "We can't leave this way."

Haymitch frowned briefly before glancing down at Effie, squeezing her hand once, gently. "Is there another way out of here, Eff?"

Effie paused, thinking to herself for a long moment before giving him a fast nod. Without even letting them respond, she turned on her heel and rushed into the room that Thread laid partially inside. Haymitch glanced back at Katniss, Peeta, and Gale before shrugging and quickly following Effie back into the room. He was still getting used to her not constantly talking and, if he was honest, he missed it a lot.

The room Effie led them to was very large with about five doors leading into other unknown locations. The room itself had many cameras and lighting equipment set up inside for live broadcasts. But Effie didn't let the group gauge their surroundings for much longer. She continued her run forward, darting towards one of the doors on the far end of the room. The Victors followed after their former escort, not even acknowledging the camera equipment. Soon, the Peacekeepers were bound to discover Thread's dead body, so they needed to move.

Effie pushed open the door to the room, though froze at its doorway. The room was nothing more than a simple bedroom with a set of double windows that the group could easily escape from. However, the golden haired woman seemed almost terrified to step inside the room. Haymitch stumbled behind her when she abruptly stopped at the doorway, nearly crashing into her back. He reached up with his good arm and grasped the door frame to stop himself. "Effie? Effie, come on, we have to go."

The woman gave him a fast nod before forcing herself through the door. She pointed towards the window to signal their escape, but she instead ran over to the bed. Haymitch followed Effie into the room and pushed open the window quickly, signalling for Gale, Katniss, and Peeta to go out first before glancing backward at Effie.

Gale pushed the gun in his hands onto his back before turning to Katniss. He stared over her burns and marks, wondering just how much longer her painkillers would last. He grabbed her hand before pulling her towards the window beside him. "You're going to need help getting back."

Katniss took a few steps toward Gale when he pulled her. She turned her eyes up towards his. "I'm fine. Worry about yourself."

"Your medicine is going to wear off soon," he warned as he climbed out the window first, letting go of her hand. "Let me know when that happens at least."

Katniss just nodded shortly, not intending on letting him know, and followed him out the window, albeit slower than she normally would have.

With quivering arms, Effie reached under the pillow, pulling out a small handgun. After getting the gun, the woman turned toward the dresser of the room. Tears were starting to form in her eyes again as she ripped open the top drawer. Inside was a collection of Thread's torturing devices, including some of the more ancient ones he had taken with him on the train of the Tribute's Tour but also many modern devices. The woman began to dig through the items, wincing slightly when her hands pricked and cut against some of the sharper instruments. She looked determined to find what she was searching for and seemed to know this room almost too well.

Haymitch, however, just frowned. He stepped away from the three younger Victors and toward Effie. He set his hand on the former escort's shoulder, frowning, the ring she had gotten him before the Quarter Quell still glinting on his finger. "Effie, come on. What are you looking for?"

The escort shook her head slightly but her gaze fell on his finger. Her tears finally began to fall again but she tore her gaze from the ring before pulling out what she had been looking for. She pulled out the green, round grenade before turning to Haymitch with it. The oldest Victor's eyes instantly widened at the grenade, as if shocked it was there. "What the hell are you doing with that?"

Effie shook her head a little before pointing back towards the broadcasting room, trying to make her point across. She put the grenade in his hand before wiping her face clean of her tears before pointing again, trying to tell him what to do.

"You want me to blow up the room with the cameras?" Haymitch tried.

Effie gave him a brief nod but her eyes widened at the sounds from outside the door. A few anxious voices began to shout out. The Peacekeepers had discovered Thread's body.

Peeta quickly began to follow after Katniss and Gale, but his attention was focused on the two still inside. He looked to them with urgency. "Hurry!"

Haymitch quickly pressed a kiss to Effie's forehead before gently pushing her in Peeta's direction, curling his hand around the grenade. "I'll be right after you. Go!"

Effie stumbled towards the window, grabbing onto the frame. She looked back towards Haymitch, almost regretting giving him the idea. She wished so badly she could argue with him, yell at him to forget the idea now that the real threat of Peacekeepers were visible. But she couldn't. She could only turn toward Peeta and crawl out the window after the three Victors waiting on them.

Haymitch gritted his teeth once Effie was out of his sight, immediately turning back to the door frame, as if waiting for the Peacekeepers. It didn't take long for the Peacekeepers to reach the broadcasting room. The group of ten Peacekeepers in the same clothing as Thread began to rush the room, guns in hand.

"Hey boys," Haymitch just smirked before tossing the grenade quickly into the broadcast room. He immediately spun and darted toward the window as quickly as he could in his weakened condition.

The Peacekeeper group didn't have much time to react. The grenade exploded upon impact with the ground, blasting the group away. The blow from the grenade was enough to shatter every window in the area. Effie squeaked, making the only noise she could out of surprise as Peeta immediately grabbed the woman and pushed the two of them to the ground. Gale, still grasping on to Katniss's hand, immediately pulled her down as well to avoid the shard of glass flying through the air around them.

Haymitch jumped out as the window shattered around him, fire licking his boots. His jacket protected his back and arms, but the glass quickly sliced his face, neck, and hands. He fell heavily between Gale and Effie with a loud thump and a groan. Effie let out another squeak after seeing Haymitch fall beside her. She immediately crawled over on her hands and knees beside him, needing to make certain he was okay. She put a hand on his chest, her wide blue eyes staring at him with concern. Haymitch's eyes fluttered open when he felt her touch his chest. He smiled slightly at her, crookedly, before reaching up and pulling a shard of glass from his neck.. "I'm... alright, Eff. Had to... kill two birds with one stone, you know."

Effie clenched her fist at him and from the look on her face, he could easily see she would have yelled at him for his carelessness if she could. However, the concern never left her eyes.

From Haymitch's side, Peeta scrambled over. He quickly grabbed on to his good arm and slung it over his shoulders to help the man walk. "Don't argue with me, let's just move before the Peacekeepers realize we're not dead."

Haymitch tore his eyes from Effie's and looked at Peeta. He gritted his teeth but recognized it was pointless to argue, even though it was obviously killing him to accept help from the boy. "_Fine_."

"Good. Gale, lead us out," the painter called forward towards the hunter.

Gale looked towards him, a little surprised. However, he nodded towards the blond as he pulled himself up. He reached over towards Katniss, offering her a hand. "We need to hurry."

Katniss took Gale's hand automatically and tightly, pulling herself up to her feet shakily. Instantly, she felt the pain from the burns on her legs and neck throb but she grit her teeth, telling herself she could make it back to the train. Her pain didn't go ignored. Gale stared down at her briefly before pulling his gun off his back. "You're hurting. And don't lie and say you're not. We don't have the time for that. Swallow your pride like Haymitch managed to do and be honest. If you don't think you're going to make it back, tell me now. We can't stop after this."

"I'll be fine. The morphling's just wearing off, but I'll be okay."

"You need to be," he warned. "We can still fail."

"I'll be fine," she stated again, looking up at Gale, mainly reassuring herself. All he could do at this point was nod and hope she wasn't lying.

With Haymitch as injured as he was and Peeta left helping the man walk, all he had left was himself and her to protect the group. Sure, Effie had managed to find that gun, but Gale highly doubted the Peacekeepers gave her any skills with it in the half a year she'd been trapped there. He immediately turned toward the streets and began to make his way ahead to be their look out, guardian, and leader. The responsibility was heavy, but he had no choice in the matter at this point. He was more than willing to assume the role.

Katniss immediately followed after him, ignoring the burning intensifying in her legs and the fatigue beginning to quickly overcome her senses. She knew that Gale, even as capable and strong as he was, couldn't protect four other people on top of himself. She needed to be as alert as she possibly could, even if that meant suffering in silence. Peeta and Effie aided Haymitch as best they could from behind.

Most of the journey back went without hitch. Gale rounded every corner first, keeping an eye out for enemy soldiers and Peacekeepers. Only twice did the group have to stop in hiding for the enemies to pass until they were near enough to see the battle at the station. The train was still stationed and the number of people fighting on its wooden platform had significantly lessened since Haymitch and Gale had run off.

By the time they had reached the station, Katniss had one of her hands curled tightly over the back of Gale's belt, the only thing keeping her upright. Every breath she took burnt her lungs, her legs were on fire, her neck was throbbing, and the want to just fall over and lay on the dirty concrete was becoming more and more desirable. Gale stopped once again behind a building nearby, but this time it wasn't to look around. Instead, he squatted down slightly, keeping his eyes on the area around them. "You can't keep going like this. I'm carrying you, get on."

"I'm fine," Katniss wheezed, not wanting him to be concerned with her on top of everything She released his belt and leaned against the wall of the building. "We're almost there. It's okay."

"And we're getting to the battle. Katniss, just stop and please do what I say, you're not fine. Please..."

"I..." She faltered slightly before nodding weakly. She pushed her gun so it was on her back before tightly grasping onto Gale's shoulders and climbing up onto his back. She let out a soft noise as her thighs pressed against his sides, causing them to burn worse. Gale did his best to ignore her sounds, not wanting to hurt her but he didn't have much a choice. He lifted her up slowly from the ground before eyeing the station.

"Haymitch, how are you holding up?"

Haymitch lifted his eyes from the ground to Gale's back. "Oh, just _fabulously_." His sarcasm was beginning to rear its head with a vengeance as he struggled to stand up, even with Peeta and Effie's help. He was losing blood quickly from his shoulder and all the lacerations from the glass certainly weren't helping. He was growing paler and weaker as every minute passed.

Gale rolled his eyes but didn't look back. "We're going to have to run for the train. When Willow and Amur catch sight of us, they'll know its the signal for retreat. So, what I mean is, can you run?"

"Nothing wrong with my legs, Hawthorne. I think I can manage."

"Good." He adjusted Katniss slightly on his back to a more comfortable spot before preparing to run. "Everybody needs to stick close and keep up. Have your guns out and cover us."

Haymitch dropped his arm from around Peeta's neck to grasp his gun with his functioning arm, forcing himself to stand up straight even as the pain shot through his body. Effie's concerned eyes never left Haymitch as her hands held the handgun tightly in her grip. Gale looked back towards the three once then, after seeing Peeta holding his weapon ready, he turned and dashed for the station.


	31. Relief

Chapter 31. Relief

Haymitch immediately took off after Gale, holding his gun tightly. Although he could keep up with the hunter, he was slightly disoriented from the blood loss, his steps falling at awkward angles, causing him to stumble. But Peeta stayed at his former mentor's side the entire way. Every time the man looked close to falling, Peeta would use his shoulder or elbow to push him back slightly so the man could regain his footing. Haymitch, however much he appreciated Peeta helping him, didn't have the pride to admit it.

Among the group, the number of soldiers had significantly dropped on both sides of the battle, but the situation looked the most grim for the Bonum soldiers. Most of the medics were still around, trying to aid the injured that were still alive. Out of the Victors, the majority seemed well, though a medic was on the ground with Chaff, who was bleeding from his good arm and cursing up a storm about it. When Willow caught sight of Gale and Katniss running back to the train, relief swept over her. She quickly shot another Peacekeeper in the head before ordering, "Retreat!"

Upon hearing Willow's command, the Bonum soldiers complied. Seeing the Panem Peacekeepers were distracted by Willow's sudden command, Gale took the opportunity to dash out into the fray as fast as his fatigued legs would carry him.

A few bullets whizzed by the two as some Peacekeepers managed to catch on to Gale's plot. But it wasn't long before the hunter managed to get within jumping distance of the train. With one final leap and an echo of bullets that followed after them, Gale fell to the ground inside the train with such force, he lost his grasp on Katniss, rolling beside her. Katniss crashed into the hard floor next to Gale, biting her lip so hard to stifle her screams, it began to bleed. By now, her pain was so intense, her vision was beginning to be edged with black. The hunter's face also skewed with pain as he grasped onto his now bleeding shin. Regardless of her pain, Katniss grasped Gale's shirt tightly and began tugging him with her as she crawled on the floor, moving him safely from the doorway so the others could join them.

Haymitch dove onto the train next with just as much difficulty. However, he immediately stood up from the ground and glanced back as Effie joined him shortly after. Peeta pushed her forward as hard and quickly as he could to make certain she was safe first. Peeta landed on his feet inside the doorway after her before quickly slamming the train's doors behind him. Once closed, Haymitch immediately grabbed Effie, pulling her tightly against him as he slumped against the wall in the train.

Katniss immediately let go of Gale and crawled over to him, brushing his hair off his forehead and glancing at his leg. She let out a soft sob, both for his pain and hers, before turning her face to look down the hallway, shouting hoarsely. "Medic! We need a medic!"

A hand reached down, lightly resting on the back of her head as Peeta leaned down towards her. "Don't yell and strain yourself. Stay here and try not to move, I'll get you all medical attention, alright?"

"G-Gale first, if the medics are busy," Katniss stated firmly, not looking up at Peeta. She just comfortingly ran her fingers through the hunter's dark hair, knowing she owed him everything for carrying her to safety. Peeta didn't argue. He nodded to her briefly before breaking into a full sprint through the train towards the way he saw the Bonum soldiers enter.

"K-Katniss," Gale muttered between gasps as he looked up toward her through pained eyes.

Katniss locked her eyes on Gale's, her fingers faltering slightly before continuing their stroking, gently. "Shh, conserve your st-strength."

Gale opened his mouth to speak again, but eventually decided against it. He nodded slightly though his eyes turned towards Haymitch and Effie. If Haymitch was weak or hurting, he wasn't showing it. He had his functioning arm tightly around Effie with his face pushed down into her hair, as if afraid if he let her go, she'd be taken away from him again.

For about the fifteenth time today, Effie was crying again. Her arms were clung tightly around Haymitch's waist, a similar fear of letting go in her as well. Her face hid into his good shoulder before she slowly managed to pull her head up, looking toward the man with reddened eyes. She was worried about him, scared to death that he was going to bleed out from the bullet wound she had given him. Unable to say anything, she leaned in, lightly giving a shaky kiss to an unscathed spot on his cheek. Haymitch lifted his hand to her hair gently, smiling down at her, although it was weak both from his pain and at the sight of her tears. He kissed her once, briefly, in reassurance. "I'm alright, Effie. _We're _alright now."

The woman shook her head suddenly as Peeta walked back into the hallway, two medics trailing behind him. Effie, however, didn't seem to realize as her eyes dashed down towards Haymitch's shoulder that she had shot, guiltily. Haymitch's eyes didn't leave Effie's face. He just tucked his finger under her chin, lifting her eyes to his again. "Stop it. It's not your fault."

Effie's eyes traveled back to Haymitch's only for a moment before she was distracted away by the male medic who walked beside them. She looked towards the man, confused.

"Mr. Abernathy, we need to treat your injuries quickly," he warned, causing Effie to raise her eyebrows at the level of respect the man spoke to Haymitch with.

Haymitch tore his eyes from Effie's face to look at the medic. He nodded shortly, lowering his hand from her hair hesitantly. He just took a step toward the medic before grasping at the wall behind him to stop himself from collapsing in weakness. Effie squeaked before quickly grasping onto his good arm. She immediately shot him a glare and would have called him a moron for moving had she the means to do so. Instead, she pointed to the ground and tugged his arm downward slightly. Haymitch chuckled slightly and smiled at her, amused by the fact that she could nag him even when she couldn't speak. He slowly slid down the wall and sat on the floor, obediently. Effie's glare vanished before she sat down beside him. Her hand slid from his arm to grasp a hold of his hand again as the medic knelt down on Haymitch's other side, preparing tools to remove the bullet and glass shards with.

Haymitch's eyes widened almost imperceptibly at the tools. He leaned his head slightly against Effie's shoulder, glancing at the medic. "Do you have any liquor? I feel like this is going to hurt."

"The only alcohol we have is medical rub," the medic informed, sterilizing the long tongs quickly.

"I'll drink it. I don't care if I go blind."

Effie's glare immediately returned as she lightly smacked the back of the hand she was holding. The medic didn't seem too surprised but instead pulled out a long needle. "I'll give you a morphling injection. Just try to relax."

Haymitch just gritted his teeth, but nodded, pressing his face against Effie's shoulder, figuring if anything was going to get him to relax, it was her. The golden haired woman tried to give him a comforting smile as she moved her hands, entwining her fingers with his. She wrapped her other arm around his bicep, hugging onto it, before leaning down to kiss his forehead.

As much as he wanted to turn away and give the two their privacy, Gale couldn't help but to watch Effie and Haymitch. He was so lost in thought that Gale didn't even notice when the medic shot a small injection of morphling into his leg. In his mind, memories of the Haymitch drunk, angry, and just downright pathetic, played out. The many times the man seemed weak willed and lost were forever embedded into Gale's mind. And yet, what the hunter saw before him instead was a man who was brave, loyal, and passionate. Someone who had something so important to him that nothing else mattered. It scared Gale as he suddenly realized how alike he and Haymitch actually were and how possible Haymitch's past could become his future.

Katniss's eyes, however, never left Gale's face. While she saw the emotions flitting discreetly in his expression, she thought they were connected to the pain in his leg. Her hands never faltered in filtering through his hair, even as the pain in her legs intensified. She leaned down and pressed her lips against his forehead. It was like if she focused on Gale and his pain, she could try and put off dealing with her own.

The second her lips touched his face, Gale snapped back into reality. His eyes turned up towards her slowly as he realized he was still panting. He tried to steady his breathing but suddenly gasped at the feeling of the tongs enter his shin. It didn't hurt nearly as badly as it would have were he not drugged but the cold metal touching the inside of his leg was more surprising to him. Gale gave his head a slight shake, trying his hardest not to shudder while the woman medic fished for the bullet. Katniss winced at Gale's gasping, wishing he couldn't feel anything at all, before tugging on the ends of his hair, gently.

"Focus on me, G-Gale. I'm here. Just look at me."

The hunter nodded silently as he tried to stay focused on the girl above him. He knew his bone was shattered, it had to have been. No pain in his life ever hurt this bad. Regardless, he slowly reached up, resting a hand on Katniss's cheek. His eyes remained locked with hers, wincing at every movement of the tongs and counting the times she blinked. Katniss lifted one of her hands to cover Gale's, keeping her eyes on his even though she desperately wanted to see what the tongs were doing in his leg and if they were close to finishing, wishing she could take away his pain.

"I love you," she tried, quietly, tears of worry beginning to spring into her eyes.

Gale forced a smile towards her before turning his hand. He squeezed her hand slightly, weakly, running the back of his hand lightly over her cheek. "I-I love...you too, Katniss."

She kissed the back of his knuckles before setting their entwined hands in her lap, forcing back a choked sob. "I... p-promise you can yell at me later for c-coming and c-causing you to get shot."

"I-I won't yell. P-Peeta was right, you t-two... deserved to be there."

Katniss smiled weakly at him before shrugging. "It was still stupid."

Gale let out a soft chuckle. "Y-yeah, it wa-"

The hunter cut himself off with a small yelp, his eyes closing shut and head falling back in agony. The medic immediately grabbed his knee to prevent him from moving as she began to pull the bullet from his leg. Katniss gripped his hand tighter and set her other hand on his cheek comfortingly, shooting the medic a look, even though she knew she was being as careful as she could. The woman, however, didn't look up.

"This is the hardest part, he needs to stay still."

Katniss bit her lip before looking back down at Gale, resuming running one of her hands through his hair, searching her clouded-with-pain mind desperately for a distraction. When none surfaced, she leaned down quickly and pressed her lips against his, hoping it was sufficient enough to get his attention.

With his eyes closed, Gale had no warning of Katniss's moves until after her lips were on his. His eyes opened slightly, briefly, before closing again as he returned her kiss. His free hand, which now shook from the pain surging through his entire being, buried itself inside her hair as he desperately tried to focus on her.

Katniss set her unengaged hand on Gale's cheek, deepening the kiss just as desperately. She was unsure if this would really work, but if it did, she decided it would be, at least, an enjoyable distraction. After a long minute, Gale's shaking hand fell from her hair as he sighed. The medic at his leg dropped the bullet to the ground beside her before beginning to apply medication to the open wound. Katniss pulled her lips away from his, glancing down at the medic, even as her paled cheeks flared red. She sighed slightly in relief that the bullet was finally out.

"He should be fine," the medic sighed as she pulled out a few wrapping supplies from her box. She also pulled out a large syringe and handed it up towards Peeta, who had been standing against the wall to let everybody have their space. He blinked but took it. "Give this to the Mockingjay in her thigh. It'll hold off the pain."

Katniss just paused awkwardly, turning her eyes up to Peeta, forgetting he was there during her steamy make out distraction with Gale. The painter walked over towards Katniss, kneeling down beside her. Biting his lips together, he looked up. "T-try to hold still, okay?"

She just looked into his eyes for a moment before lowering her gaze to the floor, nodding slightly. She stretched her legs out in front of herself with a small whimper as Peeta began to position the needle onto her thigh. He stabbed the tip of it so quickly and precisely that it didn't even flare up any pain from the Mockingjay's prior wounds. However, he still paused after stabbing, afraid he had hurt her.

"It's okay. It doesn't hurt," Katniss said softly when the blond paused, looking up at him slightly.

"I-if you're sure," he mumbled before releasing the morphling into her system again. He emptied out the entire syringe before carefully withdrawing the tip, his eyes going up to hers.

Katniss's eyelids fluttered slightly as the morphling hit her bloodstream, falling back slightly onto her elbows. The burning was almost instantly erased from her legs and the back of her neck. She slipped off her elbows and laid back flat on the train floor, sighing. "You're almost as impressive with a needle as you are with cakes, Peeta."

"I didn't want to hurt you." He placed the syringe down before looking between Gale and the medic. The hunter still laid with his eyes closed, to which Peeta assumed he blacked out from the pain or mental strain. He turned back towards Katniss. "I'll take you both to a room. It'll be more comfortable than the floor..."

Katniss just nodded weakly, feeling too heavy and sedated under the morphling to force herself to say anything. The painter carefully lifted the Mockingjay before walking down the hallway. Luckily, it didn't take long for him to find a room with a bed. Awkwardly, he managed to turn the doorknob while keeping a firm hold on the girl in his arms and turned on the light switch of the room. However, the lamp didn't do much for the lighting as the room was already brightened by the morning sun that had began to rise from beyond the window.

Peeta laid Katniss down gently, planting a very brief and very gentle kiss on her forehead as he did. He wasn't trying to win her over anymore. He was just trying to be comforting.

"Don't move, I'll get Gale for you. You both need to rest."

"Mmm," Katniss nodded slightly, turning onto her side and pressing her nose against the pillow. "Thanks, Peeta."

The painter gave her an unseen nod before turning out to get Gale, leaving her alone for the time being. Katniss opened her eyes only half-way and watched Peeta leave the room. She was too sedated to even wonder about how Peeta, who was much shorter than Gale, was going to get the blacked out hunter into the room, yet the boy found a way.

With one arm wrapped around Peeta's neck and the other around the male medic who had been working on Haymitch, Gale was being practically dragged into the room. Gale's eyes lazily stared at the ground, having regained a degree of consciousness but was still under his own level of sedation. Peeta kept mind of the hunter's leg, keeping his eye on it the entire time so it didn't accidentally twist any wrong or irritating way. With the medics help, the two managed to shift the dark haired boy so he was laying on the bed, facing Katniss.

Katniss opened her eyes and found herself face to face with Gale again. She instantly wrapped an arm around him tightly, like he was her teddy bear. Gale let out a small, lazy chuckle as he forced his eyes to look to her. "F-Feeling better, Catnip?"

She just nodded slightly, setting her forehead against his. "How's your leg?" she slurred back to him, eyes fluttering closed again.

"Numb," he admitted.

In the background, the male medic took his leave. Peeta watched him go, only looking back towards Gale and Katniss briefly. He had lost count of how many times the girl could have died on this mission and the prospect terrified him. The painter cursed himself mentally for being so stupid as to bring her in her condition to District 2, but he knew it meant nothing now. He could only be thankful she was still there. Even if she was clinging to Gale and not him, it didn't matter. This wasn't a fight for her love anymore. It was a fight for survival. The war was just starting and the realization was just sinking into the blond that there was a possibly she could die.

He silently promised to himself he would never let that happen. No matter if she pushed him away or told him no or chose Gale over him, he would protect her forever.

The painter turned his head back towards the exit as he started to walk off.

"Peeta."

The blond stopped immediately before looking back towards her. "Yeah?"

The dark haired girl had sat up shakily on her elbows, eyes teary from mental and physical exhaustion. She just held out the arm that had previously been around Gale, holding her hand out to him, silently inviting him to lay with them. Peeta's eyes widened instantly. He turned fully around, but the shock never vanished from his face. Slowly, he turned his eyes towards Gale.

The hunter was staring up towards the girl beside him, at first confused but that quickly changed as he began to comprehend what she wanted. He said nothing, but did not object either. As much as he wanted to and regardless of the insecurities the painter's feelings for Katniss instilled in him, Gale never hated Peeta. There were times and still were that the hunter felt sorry for the painter and even considered on a few occasions the possibility that the two may have been friends on different terms. He even admired Peeta to a degree for his determination. But these were all thoughts he would never admit to.

Even now, as he pushed back all thoughts of their competition for Katniss's affection, he remained silent and Peeta knew his silence wasn't a deterrence. The painter gave a small nod and smile towards Katniss as he walked quietly to her side opposite of Gale. Katniss relaxed as she saw Peeta heading to her. She fell back off her elbows and to her back, glancing at Gale and then at Peeta. The love she felt for the hunter was very different from the love she felt for the painter, but both feelings were so strong that she sometimes felt like she was drowning. Right now was one of those times. In her sedated, emotional state, she was touched that the boys would put aside their rivalry just because she was fragile and needed both of them.

Once Peeta had laid down, the boys on either side of her each grabbed a hold of Katniss's hands almost simultaneously. Gale held her right in both his roughened hands as he held it close to his chest, while Peeta held her left with one hand, lightly planting a few silent kisses on her fingers.

Katniss smiled weakly before squeezing both boys' hands almost imperceptibly. Her head slowly fell to the side, facing Gale, before the morphling completely took over her senses and she surrendered herself to sleep.


	32. Communication

Chapter 32. Communication

Over the next few hours, discussions on what to do next had to be held without Haymitch and Gale. Without their guidance due to their incapacitated conditions, the decisions were left to Willow and Amur. Ultimately, the two decided traveling back to District 6 would be the wisest decision. With their Panem aircraft out of reach, being too close to District 2's borders to secure, their only choice in the matter was to get in touch with President Pyrrhus. But when the medic watching over Haymitch had informed her of this, Effie only became more confused about the entire situation. She just nodded at the man as he spoke, unable to communicate her lack of knowledge.

Effie hadn't slept a wink since arriving on the train. Even with Haymitch laying in one of the spare beds, unconscious, she remained ever alert, cupping his hands in hers. Once an hour, the medics would come in to check on his condition and administer more morphling to the slumbering man. While the last thing Effie wanted was for Haymitch to be in pain, the worry that he would become addicted to the substance nagged at her mind. But she was powerless to voice her concerns to the male as the medic took off from the room once again, leaving her alone with Haymitch.

After many hours of sleep, Haymitch mumbled quietly. He slowly turned onto his good side and, after a few moments, opened his eyes to look at Effie. As soon as he saw the woman, he smiled, glad that the mission hadn't been a dream, even if he couldn't move his left arm. He squeezed her hand gently after a moment of gaining his strength back slightly. Effie's eyes opened a little wider before looking down to him. She stood up with a small, slight smile back to him before kissing him on the cheek.

Haymitch smiled a little wider and looked up at her. After seeing the darkness under her eyes and the way her hair remained unkempt, he frowned slightly. "Have you not slept at all?"

Her eyes cast down in a guilty manner, but merely gave him a shrug as her reply.

"Effie... you need to sleep. Come here," he frowned and scooted back slightly, patting the bed in front of him. The woman eyed the spot momentarily, debating with herself whether or not she actually wanted to sleep. She was certainly exhausted but she felt that sleep would cut into the precious time she had with him. Time she no longer would take for granted.

Yet still, she couldn't tell him no - and not just because of the obvious reasons. She sat down beside him, making certain to take off her shoes before pulling her feet onto the mattress and laying beside him. She may have lost her voice but the world would certainly end if Effie Trinket ever lost her manners.

Haymitch smiled slightly at the very Effie-like action before slipping his good arm between her and the mattress, curling his hand around her shoulder. He kissed her temple. "That's better, isn't it?"

Her face glowed red. She wasn't used to seeing such a loving, romantic side of Haymitch. The former escort cracked an almost shy smile and nodded, liking it.

"Good," he paused before looking down at her, mistaking her blush for embarrassment. "Am I being weird?"

The woman blinked a few times before stopping. No, he wasn't acting weird. He was just showing her a new side of himself to her. It wasn't weird, but unique and special even. But she couldn't figure out the exact way to convey this. She settled her problem by simply shaking her head, hoping the fact she hesitated wouldn't make him think otherwise.

"Oh, I am being weird," Haymitch fell back against the mattress, but didn't remove his arm from her shoulders. "You're weird too, though, I guess. Watching me in my sleep."

Effie let out a frustrated sigh, crossing her arms tightly. She could already tell communication was going to be a hassle and it was rather annoying. But she couldn't blame him, though. She knew that if she were trying to communicate with an Avox as Haymitch was, she would get very easily flustered. A new fear though suddenly shot through her as her arms relaxed.

Haymitch frowned at her sigh and glanced down at her. He furrowed his eyebrows for a moment before leaning up slightly on his good elbow, looming over her. "Do you still have your calender book? Maybe... you could write? And we can talk that way."

Effie bit her bottom lip and gave him a sad shake of the head. She had dropped it when Katniss had tackled her in the Justice Building and was certain by now it was blown to bits.

He sighed after a moment and nodded before pressing his lips against her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I can't think of anything else."

Effie closed her eyes with a small sigh before wrapping her arms around his neck. There was so much she wanted to tell him, so many questions she wanted to ask, but it was useless. She felt as if she'd never be able to communicate with him again, as melodramatic as it sounded. But the growing frustration of her silence was causing her anxiety to rise slightly and things were becoming less logically sound.

She tried to move slightly to her right, as if preparing for a panic attack, and trying to find the best place for breathing room but something in her skirt's pocket jabbed into her hip. She gasped slightly at the sharp and unexpected pain, immediately putting her hand in the pocket to pull out whatever was in there. Haymitch pulled back from her, removing his arm from her shoulders, as if alarmed. "Are you alright?"

The woman gave him a brief nod before pulling the item from her pocket. Her eyes widened slightly before she smiled brightly up at Haymitch, but only briefly. Not giving him the chance to even ask, she turned on her stomach. Grabbing onto his uninjured arm, she put the tip of the pen on his skin to write, but stopped. Just a second ago, she had an entire speech for the man and now she drew a blank.

Haymitch's eyes brightened briefly as he looked down at her before he raised his eyebrows. He chuckled after a moment. "Effie Trinket with nothing to say?"

She shot him a quick glare before turning back to his arm. After a few seconds, she ultimately decided. Moving up more on the bed, she positioned herself so she was blocking Haymitch from looking before beginning to write.

"Alright, then." Haymitch turned his head slightly to look at the ceiling to give her privacy to write on his arm. Hardly any time passed before she was done. Most of the time she spent re-outlining the words on his arm. She didn't know why but the longer she waited, the more anxious and almost nervous she felt about showing him. Effie shook her head and, after a minute of bolding the letters more with the black fountain pen, she let go for him to look. Haymitch waited for her to finish before lifting his arm slightly and looking down at it. As he looked, Effie turned her bright red face away from him.

In very large and bold cursive writing, Effie had only three words. "**_I love you."_**

He just stared at his arm for a long moment, feeling unfamiliar tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. He had been waiting and waiting for months after confessing his love to her and he finally got what he wanted. It almost took back all the heartache he had experienced and forced himself to drown in cooking sherry and white liquor. Even though it wasn't communicated in a way he would have preferred, it was still perfect to him. He instantly set a hand on the side of Effie's face, turning her eyes back to his before pressing his lips against hers, gentle and sweet and everything that was uncharacteristic for Haymitch Abernathy.

Effie, while surprised by the softness of his kiss, never faltered. She returned his kiss almost instantly, wrapping her arms around his neck but minding not to touch his damaged shoulder. At this point, she didn't care if she could never talk or write again. She had finally managed to confess her love to him after fearing for too long that she'd never see him again.

Haymitch moved his hand into her hair, pressing a few more kisses against her mouth before setting his forehead against hers, vulnerability written all over his face. "I love you too, Effie. I was worried you didn't..."

Her eyes opened slowly as they stared up into his. She leaned forward, giving him a reassuring, brief kiss on the lips. Haymitch smiled shakily, nervous now that he knew she felt the same way he did. Not only had he not been emotionally connected with someone in twenty five years, he was also certain he would be a terrible boyfriend, due to all of his vices and his angry attitude. He forced his emotions into the back of his mind and just smiled a bit more surely. "I missed you."

Effie gave him a sad nod, having missed him as well. She reached over again to his arm before starting to write, not caring anymore if he watched as she wrote. "**_I missed you too. Too long."_**

"Every time... I saw you on those broadcasts..." Haymitch trailed off and chewed on his bottom lip before pressing another kiss against Effie's forehead. "Ah, never mind. It doesn't matter anymore. We'll go back to Bonum and start fresh."

Effie blinked before turning and writing on her own palm. "**_Every time, what? Bonum?"_**

Haymitch ignored her first question, but frowned at the second one. "No one's explained to you where we're going? Or what sent us to you?"

She shook her head, putting the pen back down in her pocket. It was partially her fault that she didn't know, but she had refused to leave Haymitch's side and only the Bonum medics came to visit. She couldn't exactly ask for help. He sighed heavily and removed his hand from her hair, taking her hand in his instead. "Alright, story time, then."

And he began. He explained to Effie everything, starting with the escape from the Arena, then continuing to the issues in Bonum, the President appointing him and Gale as Generals basically, and ending with their trip to District 2. He left out some of the more gory details, knowing Effie's fragile nature, but most of it was explained in depth. Effie waited patiently for him to finish but a thousand questions popped into her head. By the time he was done, she was uncertain what to ask first. Pulling the pen up to her hand again, she wrote him another message. "**_Do you have to keep fighting?"_**

Haymitch stared down at her hand. It wasn't the question he had been expecting. He tilted his head to the side slightly. "Well, they've never forced us to fight. Odair stayed home for this mission, but the rest of us have always volunteered, so I'm not sure."

She nodded but wrapped her arms around his waist, nestling her head into his chest. Everything was so much for her to take in such a small amount of time. She wanted to give herself time to think through everything, sort out her thoughts before asking, but knowing that was a priority to her. She had just gotten him back and didn't want to lose him again. Holding onto him tightly, she leaned up, planting a small kiss on his collarbone, trying to push the notion that he may have to fight and get hurt again out of her mind. But it still lingered.

Haymitch faltered for a moment before pressing his lips against her forehead. "I want revenge, Effie, for what they've done to me. For what they did to my family and my District. But I want you more. If you don't want me to fight, I won't."

Effie didn't move from her spot for a long time. She thought to herself, screaming in her mind to tell him not to go. She couldn't handle seeing him hurt and she didn't want to risk him dying. She pulled up her pen and hand once again, using the last bit of space on her palm she could write on. **_"I'll support you no matter what you choose."_**

He just wrapped his arm around her tightly, rubbing his hand gently on her back, and nodded once, his mouth quirking up slightly. He leaned his head back against the pillow. "Alright. I won't, then. Besides, I already retrieved the one thing I needed the most last night."

Effie looked surprised, but happy. She grinned towards him before leaning up so she was eye to eye with him, her lips hovering slightly over his. Lightly, she ran her fingers up his arm that she wrote her confession on before kissing him just as soft.


	33. Need

Chapter 33. Need

After a few more hours, the train began to slow down as it arrived at District 6. Outside the windows, smoke still rose from the city, or what was left of it. Many of the smoke stacks and warehouses had been burnt to the ground by the rebels in the Victors' absence.

The three still laid together, fast asleep. Sometime while they were all sleeping, Katniss had ended up with her arm thrown loosely around Gale's waist, her head resting on his chest. She still had her other hand entwined with Peeta's while his arm was wrapped around her hips from behind her, his face pressed against her braid.

"Well, it seems like I missed out on quite the party!" Johanna didn't even try to be subtle or quiet as she leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over her chest.

Katniss's eyes opened blearily. She rubbed her face against Gale's chest in a cat like fashion before glaring at Johanna and letting out a small groan. "Go away, Johanna."

Peeta's eyes opened slightly too, though he seemed a bit more alert then Katniss. Slowly, he sat up, rubbing his eyes and looking towards the window. "Where... are we?"

"District 6 or whatever's left of it. We need to find Paylor and get in contact with Pyrrhus since _someone_ took a joyride on our escape craft," Johanna began to explain to Peeta, but her eyes never left Katniss.

Katniss rubbed her eyes again before sitting up, wincing slightly. She shot Johanna a glare. "Why are you looking at me?"

"Because I can't look at you and Bread at the same time and he's not the one with the damn attitude."

"Well, if you weren't so rude as to burst in here without knocking..."

"If the door wasn't wide open and ever so welcoming, maybe I would have knocked."

Peeta's face turned a shade redder before looking apologetically towards Katniss. That's twice now his habit of keeping doors open put them in an awkward situation. "Oh. Sorry."

Katniss just sighed, scratching the back of her head, glancing back at Peeta. "It's fine. Johanna would have barged in anyway."

"We need to get off this train and into the District," Johanna continued, ignoring Katniss. "So wake up your other boyfriend and let's go."

Katniss's face instantly flared red. "Shut up!"

Johanna just let out a hearty laugh before turning to fetch Haymitch and Effie. Her laugh echoed through the hall until she reached her next location. Peeta's face was almost as red as Katniss's at this point. He ran his fingers through his blond hair a few times before looking at her. "Do... you think she's going to tell the others?"

"Probably. She's such a bitch," Katniss mumbled before touching Gale's shoulder, gently shaking him. Gale grumbled a little at her touch, not wanting to wake up yet. He began to mumble but it was incoherent. Despite her embarrassment, she smiled, an unbidden thought of _"he's adorable_" coming to her mind. She quickly ruffled Gale's hair and pressed her fingers against his sides, tickling him gently.

At first, a confused scrunching of his nose was his only response to her touch. However, the second she touched his sides, his eyes immediately flung open. He let out a loud, uncontrollable laugh before slapping one hand over his mouth and grabbing into her wrist with his other. Katniss instantly stopped, but her smile only grew wider at his laughter. In all the years she had known him, she hadn't known about him being ticklish. "Oh, Gale. That was adorable."

"Don't do that again," he warned, shooting her a glare which was significantly less threatening due to the redness of his face.

She just snickered, biting her bottom lip. "_Sure_, I won't."

"I mean it, Katniss."

Behind her, Peeta couldn't help but laugh a little. He put a hand over his face, trying to cover it up and fake a cough. It didn't work though and Gale shot him an even dirtier, red faced glare.

"What shouldn't I do? What, this?" She moved her fingers against his side again, harder this time. Gale bit down on his lip as hard as he could to prevent himself from laughing again. However, the prevention only caused his laugh to try and escape elsewhere, causing the hunter to snort slightly. He immediately grabbed both the girl's wrists, the heat in his face and ears rising. Katniss just burst out laughing at Gale's response to the tickling, trying to get out of his grasp, half-heartedly.

"It's time to go, children," Haymitch's voice came from the doorway. Instead of the usual condescending tone, his voice was laced with amusement and there was a half-smile on his face as he leaned casually against the door frame.

Upon hearing the man's voice, Peeta lowered the hand from his face and looked towards him. A smile spread over his mouth as he could immediately tell his former mentor was in a good mood, something that's become a rarity since they all lived in Victor's Village.

"Good morning, Haymitch," he smiled.

Haymitch smiled back at Peeta. "Morn-"

He was cut off by Katniss's sudden outburst. "Oh, look at your arm! You figured out how to communicate with Effie!"

Haymitch instantly crossed his arms, his cheeks turning red in a rare reaction. "Let's just go."

* * *

><p>Gale, with the aid of the wall, led the smaller group alongside Haymitch. His leg had been cast as best as it could with their resources, but it wasn't proper and they couldn't find much to use for a crutch. Before leaving their room, Peeta had offered to help the hunter, but Gale's pride wouldn't let him accept. That, and regardless of what occurred the night before, he couldn't let himself befriend Peeta. At least just not yet while Katniss was still undecided. It would make things too messy.<p>

Once reaching the station, Gale looked around towards the group of Bonum soldiers waiting for them. He cursed under his breath, hoping his limp wouldn't cause them to be too late but it seems he overestimated his speed. His eyes scanned over the soldiers, looking specifically for Willow and Amur. Katniss walked slowly in the back of the group. Although the nightmareless sleep with Peeta and Gale had rejuvenated her slightly, she was still fragile and not quite herself.

Willow was standing in front of a group of Bonum soldiers, talking to them in an authoritative voice. Although she was small, she seemed almost bigger than the men she was instructing by the way she held herself. Upon seeing Willow, Gale let out a small sigh. He felt guilty, having not checked up on any of them, but he had been too damaged to move. He took a small breath of air in before making his way slowly towards the soldiers, trying to walk straight before Katniss, Haymitch, Effie, and Peeta.

Suddenly, though, a bullet whizzed passed Willow's elbow, missing her by centimeters. Her voice instantly rang out, high and clear, across the crowd of soldiers. "Get down and armed!"

The soldiers immediately did as she commanded, though Gale's eyes widened at the scene. Having not gotten very far from the train, he backed right back up into the hallway, using it for cover as he pulled his gun out. He turned towards Haymitch and the others. "Get armed."

Haymitch instantly pulled out his gun while it took Katniss a few moments to follow suit. She was too busy trying to look around Gale to see what had happened. A small group of the remaining District 6 Peacekeepers were heading toward them. These, unlike the ones in the warehouse, weren't muttations. Panem apparently had to ship in a new shipment of Peacekeepers to 6 as the rebellion raged on. Gale glanced towards the Peacekeepers carefully, specifically towards their mouths. "They're normal," he sighed with relief before turning to Katniss. "You ready?"

Katniss nodded, tightening her grip on her gun. "Maybe you should stay in here, Gale. You can't maneuver well right now."

"Yeah, and once your pain medications wear off, neither will you. So don't suggest yourself to just run out there."

"At least I _can_ run," she growled at him. She knew it was a low blow, but she was sick of her one screw up holding her back from actually helping with anything.

"We can't just run out there, anyways. We're better covered in here. Unless you have some sort of plan other then rushing and firing?"

"I think rushing and firing is a great..." She trailed off. "Actually, I do have an idea." She turned and quickly took off down the hallway before the three men or Effie could react.

"Dammit, Katniss! The point is to TELL US FIRST!" Gale shouted before going to run after her. However, the second he tried to sprint, he immediately fell to the ground with a painful gasp.

Peeta went to Gale, going to help him up, but the hunter immediately pushed the painter to the ground when he put his hand on him. Peeta blinked in surprise, looking at Gale who turned to him. "Go after her, not me!"

Peeta said nothing but nodded. He scrambled to his feet again before dashing off in the direction Katniss ran towards. Haymitch immediately knelt beside the younger Victor as soon as Peeta ran off, inspecting his leg.

* * *

><p>Katniss had ran back to the room that she had slept in with the two boys. Without hesitation, she opened the window. As she did, Peeta's voice rang from the hallway, his loud footsteps echoing at almost the same volume. "Katniss!"<p>

She instantly rolled her eyes at the sheer volume of his feet. Her gun over her shoulder, Katniss grasped the edges of the window and climbed out. As her feet were just going through the window, Peeta dashed into the room. He immediately went towards the window, going to jump out after her. Katniss quickly grabbed the top of the train, pulling herself upwards, her legs swinging upwards and hitting him square in the chest.

The force mixed with the fact that Peeta was not expecting to be kicked, the blond fell back again to the ground. He put a hand on his chest but stared towards the window. "K-Katniss, please! You _died_ last time you went off like this, please!" he begged, scrambling back to his feet and going again for the window, significantly more winded now. Katniss scrambled on top of the train, but turned slightly to look down toward the window, ignoring his comments in general but having the grace to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Peeta! I didn't mean to kick you!"

The boy just shook his head slightly before starting to climb out again after her. "What are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to appease you two idiots. I can shoot from up here and I doubt anyone will notice me. Go back inside!"

"It would _appease us_ if you told us this before hand!" Peeta did, however, stop his climb but he did not go back in. Instead, the painter pulled his gun forward, looking towards the land that her back would be towards. "If that's what you're really doing, then I'll cover your back from the window!"

"In case you forgot, I don't have any parents, so you and Gale can stop acting like you are at any time." Katniss retorted from her unseen spot on the train. However, she fell to her stomach anyway and crawled to the other side of the train, so she was facing the action at the station.

"You're welcome!" was the final thing he yelled up before keeping his eyes on the area behind and beside them from his position. Katniss ignored Peeta's attitude, crawling to the edge of the train. She automatically raised her gun and began protecting the soldiers from above, spraying bullets quickly at the group of Peacekeepers.

After a few minutes of firing recklessly into the crowd, the group of Peacekeepers had quickly dwindled down to three. Against the much larger group of Victors and Bonum soldiers, the Peacekeepers cut their losses. They quickly turned and ran back toward the smoldering ruins of District 6, but not before Willow shot one more in the back, sending him straight to the ground.

Katniss sat on top of the train for a moment before she was suddenly faced with a scary dilemma: how to get down. She carefully crawled back over to the window where Peeta was, calling weakly down to him, ashamed about having to ask for help after the way she spoke to him. "Peeta?"

The painter looked up towards her, confused by the tone of her voice. His gun was still in his arms and halfway out the window. "The bullets stopped. Is it over?"

"Yeah, they retreated," she paused for another brief moment before shutting her eyes, shamefully. "I don't know how to get down."

There was a long moment of silence before Peeta had to pull himself in. He placed the gun on his back so he could have both his arms to help her but couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"I heard that! Don't laugh," she snapped, but it was half hearted and laced with embarrassment. She swung her legs over the side of the train and slowly inched herself downward toward the window.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Peeta tried before turning back to the window. He leaned out partially so his arms and upper torso were out more before grasping onto her ankles. "Keep coming down slow and I can aim you so your legs swing in here."

"Don't drop me. I don't need to die again," she mumbled, continuing to slowly lower herself downwards, even as her arms began to shake violently at the exertion.

"I won't drop you, I promise." He held his arms out, managing to grasp her knees. Carefully, he positioned her feet so she were on the inside of the window. Once he was certain of her position, he gave her one of the most terrifying suggestions he's ever made. "Okay, now just let go."

"Um, I'm okay." She just continued to hang onto the edge of the train, lowered as far down as she could be.

"Katniss, I can feel you shaking. If you don't let go while I'm ready, it could end bad. Just let go and trust me."

Peeta waited only a few seconds before securing his arms around her waist tightly. He had positioned her feet so they slid right in through the opening of the window. All he had to do was pull her in. Being careful not to hit her or his head from the top of the window, he pulled her in slowly before putting her down on her feet, an arm still around her waist. He looked her up and down a few times before looking to her eyes. "You okay?"

Katniss sighed slightly when her feet were back on the ground, looking back up at him. She smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks."

Peeta, however, didn't smile back. He let go of her waist before putting both his hands on her cheeks. "Katniss, please listen to me for a minute, okay?" his voice easily sounded distressed.

Her smile instantly disappeared. She frowned, looking back at him, almost blankly. "Am I going to get a lecture?"

"Call it whatever you want, but you need to listen. You need to work with us and need to tell us what's going on before you do things. We're in a war now and you and I are among the top targeted people in Panem. You can't keep going off alone. If I lose you again..."

Katniss was instantly ready to argue back until she heard his final statement. She chewed on her bottom lip before setting her hands over his on her cheeks. "Okay. Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't think of how it would affect you."

"Not just me, but Gale too. And Haymitch, Prim, all of Gale's family... It affects more than you could imagine, Katniss. So many people care about you and want you to keep going. It's not that we don't think you're strong - I know you are. That's why I was okay with going after Thread with you. I know Gale knows you are too. But you can't take all of Panem on alone. Please."

"I wasn't trying to," she said softly, turning her eyes away from his and dropping her hands back to her sides. "I just want to prove I can do something on my own."

"You don't need to prove anything. We all know you can handle things alone, but you don't have to anymore."

"It doesn't feel that way. It feels like everyone's trying to take care of me but I don't _need_ any of you. I've been on my own since I was a kid and it feels like everyone, but especially you and Gale, have forgotten that."

"Do you expect us not to care when you get hurt? Would you really let us recklessly run out into a battle alone?"

"That's different," she said stiffly, glancing back up at Peeta.

"How?"

"Because you two need me."


	34. Peacekeeper

Chapter 34. Peacekeeper

Peeta paused, letting her words sink in. He slowly let her face go, standing up straight, looking a little confused. Katniss just forced her face to remain emotionless, knowing she was going to get this reaction. She brushed imaginary dirt off her hands on her pants before walking toward the doorway. "Come on, we better go."

Peeta didn't leave the spot but his hand immediately reached, grasping her wrist. "No. No, you're not walking out after that." He turned back towards her, letting go of her wrist. "Are you trying to say that... that I can't go on without you but you'd be able to without me?"

She paused, trying to be delicate but not knowing exactly how. "It's not like I'd be happy about it... but, yes. I'm used to being alone, Peeta. You're not."

"And the same goes for Gale? You want us to leave you alone then, is that right? Am I understanding what you're saying properly?"

"I never said that, Peeta." She groaned, tilting her head back briefly, before looking back at him. "I'm just saying I've never needed anyone and I don't need anyone now. Somehow, you both have come to need me. But that doesn't mean I don't _want_ either of you."

Peeta, however, just shook his head. He turned to look towards the window, avoiding her eyes. "Fine."

"Peeta! This is such a stupid thing to get mad over. Stop."

"You're right. It is stupid and I'm sorry for bothering you with it. I won't be a burden on you anymore."

Katniss just stared at the blond for a few moments. Instead of feeling sorry for him or for what she had said, she just felt angry at him. She clenched her fists once before turning and leaving the room quickly before she said something she'd regret.

The painter didn't follow. Instead he turned and looked towards the bed of the room, thinking back to just those hours ago when Katniss called him over to lay with her and Gale. He just knew she was lying, she had to have been, but the fact that she would even suggest she could do without him hurt more than anything else she'd ever said. Primarily because it scared him that she might be right.

* * *

><p>In the hall where Gale, Haymitch, and Effie still remained, the hunter was sitting with his back against the wall. He was biting his bottom lip to avoid making pained noises from the reopened wound in his shin. Katniss instantly walked from the room back to where she had left them at the train exit. She furrowed her eyebrows and knelt beside Gale, pushing his hair off his forehead, alarmed. "How did this happen?"<p>

Gale looked up towards her, finally letting go of his lip and breathing heavily. "W-where on Earth did you go?"

"I climbed onto the top of the train," she sighed heavily. "You all act like I was going to suicide bomb them."

Gale just shook his head at her, not in the mood to argue. Using the wall, he attempted to prop himself up to a stand. "W-where's Peeta? He went after you after I fell..."

"He's off sulking somewhere," she paused and glanced up at Haymitch. "Can you get him? He's in the room we all slept in last night."

Haymitch nodded quickly, figuring he didn't have time to ask questions. He went back the way that Katniss had come from to go check on Peeta. As Gale watched him walk off, his confusion grew even more. His eyes went back towards Katniss. "What happened?"

Katniss just rolled her eyes. "Nothing. He's a baby."

"I have a feeling this is a c-conversation I want to avoid then..."

"You would be correct."

Gale said nothing more as he got himself to a full stand. Using the wall again, he pulled himself towards the end of the hallway but shakily stopped at the end. He looked around briefly, half looking for more Peacekeepers and half looking for anything he could use to walk with now that new pain was shooting through his shin.

Katniss stood by Effie for a moment before walking up behind Gale, slipping an arm around his waist. "Let me help you until we can find a big stick or something to help you walk, okay?"

The hunter gave a small sigh but ultimately nodded. It was no use trying to go it alone, he would probably just fall again. Gale wrapped an arm around Katniss's shoulders before letting go of the wall. "I need to talk with Willow and Amur."

She just squeezed his waist once in acknowledgement before slowly turning him back around and walking with him off the train.

Back with the soldiers, Amur stood, gun in his hands, still on alert. Their entire squad had overall shrunk to less than half its original size and none had seen Gale or Haymitch since back in District 2. The fisherman caught sight of Katniss and Gale making their way towards them and turned to his partner. "Willow."

Willow glanced up at Amur and raised her eyebrows before seeing Katniss and Gale from around his arm. "Oh, so he's not dead."

With Katniss's help, Gale finally made it to the two. He glanced around the squad briefly before looking to Willow. "Sorry we haven't seen each other much."

Willow gave him a small, half smile. "It's alright," she replied, glancing down at his leg. "It's clearly understandable."

The hunter scratched the back of his head with a slight laugh, though it was forced through his pain. "How are things holding up here? And I assume we have a plan since we're too far from the Panem craft?"

The younger girl nodded once. "We need to find Paylor. Since the hovercraft...," she paused, glancing over Katniss for a moment, "_disappeared_, we need to get in touch with President Pyrrhus, and Paylor clearly has a way to do that."

"Then as soon as Haymitch, Effie, and Peeta join up with us, we have to hurry. District 2 isn't going to just let us go after killing Thread and the Peacekeepers here obviously know of our presence."

Willow nodded again shortly. "The group that came after us retreated. But I don't know if that's because their numbers are dwindling while District 6 fights back or if they're going to get backup."

"We can't wait to find out." Gale turned his head back towards the train, impatiently waiting on the three. "What is taking them so long?"

"Peeta's too busy pouting like a teenage girl," was all Katniss replied, not turning back to look at the train.

Like a magic word, as soon as Katniss finished speaking, Haymitch came out with Effie's hand in his, Peeta following closely behind. The three made their way to the group, though Peeta didn't look at anybody. He focused instead of his hands, which were holding onto his gun.

Gale looked to the three before looking up at Haymitch. "We need to find Paylor so we can get in touch with the President."

Haymitch nodded slightly before glancing at the smoldering ruins of District 6. "Paylor was mainly aiding the rebels. Maybe we should go to the residential section to look for her?"

"We'll probably end up in another battle if we're not careful, but it's the only option we have."

The older Victor just glanced over the small amount of remaining soldiers with a frown, but nodding slightly. "Maybe we should split up. Make the target smaller for the Peacekeepers."

"If there are still mutt Peacekeepers around, we'd stand a better chance as a group though. And if one end gets targeted, there will be less cover. I'm not sure..."

Haymitch glanced down at Effie briefly, remembering their conversation, before looking back at Gale. "You're in charge, Hawthorne, even while injured. It's your call."

The hunter's eyebrows rose in surprise. "My call? We were both put in charge."

"We both know I'm not leadership material."

Gale bit the side of his lip, looking between Effie and Haymitch. When the man tried, Haymitch really _was_ a good leader. It was his intelligence and skills that got Katniss and Peeta out of the Games alive and what saved Gale, Willow, and Amur. But Gale could see what was happening. He closed his eyes briefly before giving the older man a nod, accepting the full burden of responsibility over the group. "Alright. We'll move out as a group."

Haymitch nodded shortly, but Katniss's attention never wavered from her mentor. Suddenly, the pieces were coming together in her mind. After seeing his arm that morning with Effie's "I love you" on it to his sudden passive attitude toward the cause he was once so passionate about, Katniss felt angry. Not at Haymitch, but at Gale. Instantly, she began to doubt every time he had professed his love for her. If he loved her, she thought, he would be like Haymitch with Effie: giving up everything just to keep her happy instead of instantly willing to go off to war if he was called to do so, and she was sure he would be.

In reply, however, she just secured her grip on Gale's waist before turning to lead him toward the ruins of District 6, silently. Gale began his unsteady walk back into District 6. For the most part, it seemed the fighting had died down. However, to the hunter, he knew this could be good or bad. Gale could recall a few occasions back in District 12 where he and Katniss had been on hunts that ended grizzly. While they crept and remained silent, they found no creatures in the area. What they did not know or realize until it was too late was that the two hunters were being hunted. It was experiences like these that had prepared him for these war situations. He turned back towards his soldiers as he walked.

"Keep eyes in front, behind, and around us. There's a chance they'll be onto us but not let themselves be known at first. We can't let ourselves be ambushed."

Katniss, however, kept her eyes forward as she helped Gale onward, distracted by her thoughts. Willow quickly motioned to the three soldiers near her and pointed behind them, immediately obeying Gale's orders. The four of them turned to look at the back almost simultaneously while Haymitch turned his eyes with a few other soldiers to their left side. Sure enough, not even two blocks from the train station, a Peacekeeper slipped up. On the side that Haymitch was looking towards, a male Peacekeeper peered his head from around a corner. His eyes met briefly with Haymitch's before turning back around the corner quickly.

Haymitch bared his teeth, letting go of Effie's hand to pull his gun over his shoulder and into his functioning hand. "We've got company!"

The golden haired woman immediately pulled out the small handgun, but moved behind Haymitch. The group of soldiers turned with Haymitch, all aiming their weapons towards the alleyway.

Gale stopped, turning his attention there briefly before turning back ahead. "Everybody keep alert from your own sides! We don't want to be surrounded! Abernathy, lead your group to investigate."

Haymitch nodded shortly, pushing Effie gently toward Peeta. He gave her a quick, reassuring look before motioning toward the soldiers around him, running straight into the alley where the Peacekeeper disappeared. Effie grasped tightly onto Peeta's arm, watching worriedly as Haymitch ran off. She was tempted to run after him, but knew she would only be in the way.

On the other side of the building, the Peacekeeper sat on the ground, gun tightly in his hands and his white hood pulled up over his head. The man aimed the gun up towards the soldiers as they rounded the corner, but did not shoot. He was the only one there and knew he odds. Haymitch instantly raised his gun when he turned and saw the man. He didn't shoot, however. He felt wrong, suddenly, with his group of soldiers against one, mainly defenseless, man. "How many more of you are there?"

The man ignored his question. He seemed distracted by his voice, which sounded familiar. "Haymitch Abernathy...?"

The Victor faltered, his gun falling slightly. However, he instantly raised it back up, holding it tighter. "What business is it of yours?"

The Peacekeeper dropped his gun immediately, causing a few of the soldiers to train their guns at him in alert of his sudden movements. The Peacekeeper hesitated, holding his hands up so not to get shot at. He then began to shake his head a little until his hood fell, revealing the boyish red haired Darius underneath. "Haymitch, it's just me."

Haymitch sighed, lowering his gun immediately and directing the others to do the same. "Darius. I'm surprised they sent you out here."

A few of the soldiers obeyed Haymitch's command, but many of the others seemed skeptical. Regardless, all easied their aim slightly, watching the two converse.

Darius put his hands down slowly with a sigh. "They moved all the District 12 Peacekeepers from the District. Said we were incompetent of watching over everything there, which wasn't a lie."

"What happened in 12?"

Darius paused, half collecting his thoughts and half from intimidation of the guns still aimed at him. He shook his head with a sigh. "It's... pretty messy over there."

Haymitch suddenly turned to his soldiers, snapping authoritatively. "I said lower your weapons! He lowered his. Stop being so damn blood thirsty."

The soldiers jumped, but quickly obeyed without argument, though many didn't look happy. Darius gave a slight appreciative smile. "There's no other Peacekeepers with me or in the immediate area. I broke away from the group when they went towards the station."

Haymitch nodded slightly, turning his eyes back on Darius, still looking annoyed at the soldiers. "I figured as much." He swung his gun onto his back to seem less intimidating before holding his hand out to Darius to help him up. "If you don't tell me everything that happened in 12, I'm sure Katniss is going to kill me."

Darius took the hand gratefully before standing. "It's worse there than it is here, I will warn you that much first."

Haymitch nodded briefly. "So, it's still going on? We stopped by months ago when the uprising first started."

"Non-stop. There was talk among the Peacekeepers that they..."

"They...?"

Darius took a deep breath before looking up towards Haymitch. "They want to flatten the District."

Haymitch faltered again, lowering his voice. "Like... bomb it?"

"Just like 13."


	35. Rejuvenation

Chapter 35. Rejuvenation

A muscle in Haymitch's unshaven jaw clenched once before he turned his eyes back on Darius. "Do you know which District would lead the attack?"

Darius shook his head sadly. "When the District 12 Peacekeepers started to object, they threw us from the meeting and sent us away. I'm not certain if the plan is even still under consideration or not, but given the fact they sent us all out, I can only assume the worst. I was hoping to find the leading Commander from District 8 here."

The older man nodded once. "Paylor. We're on our way to her as well. You can come with us if you want to."

The red haired Peacekeeper tilted his head to the side as he mused over the thought. He let out a soft laugh. "You better present me as a hostage to the other soldiers. I'm not fond of bullets."

Haymitch merely raised his eyebrows. "I will do no such thing. You'll walk there with me like an equal. They won't shoot you if you're with me."

"I'm not used to seeing this side of you, Haymitch," Darius admitted with another laugh but gave the older man a nod.

"I suppose we're all different," is all Haymitch said with a slight shrug before taking the younger man's shoulder in his hand briefly. He turned and began to walk back to the rest of the group. The soldiers around Haymitch followed after, holding their guns back on alert toward their surrounding area.

Back at the group, Gale couldn't help but watch down the alleyway. Haymitch was taking far too long and there were no sounds of gunfire, which both confused and concerned him. He sighed with relief when he spotted the man and soldiers on their way back, but his eyes went to the Peacekeeper. And then they widened.

"Katniss, that's Darius."

Katniss snapped out of her thoughts at the Peacekeeper's name. Her eyes quickly turned toward the alleyway and her facial expression instantly became shocked as Haymitch's group exited the alleyway and rejoined them. "Darius!"

The red haired Peacekeeper looked down toward Katniss with a smile. "Oh, Katniss. Beautiful as ever I see."

She instantly snorted, as if it was the funniest thing she'd heard in weeks. After everything that had happened to her, she was sure she was anything but beautiful. "Sure. What are you doing here?"

"All the District 12 Peacekeepers were sent off to the other Districts," he began before looking up towards Haymitch, uncertain how much he should reveal right now to the girl. Haymitch shook his head immediately, almost imperceptibly. He knew how fragile Gale, Peeta, but mainly Katniss, were right now.

Katniss didn't notice, however. She just frowned. "Wouldn't you be needed in 12, though?"

"They said we'd be more useful elsewhere," Darius turned back to Katniss with another soft smile. "All these uprisings are really throwing the Capitol for a loop."

She just nodded slightly, but frowned a little, as if needing reassurance. "So District 12 is okay? I mean, if they moved you from there, it must be dying down?"

Darius's smile faltered slightly, but he tried to keep straight faced as possible. Never good at lying or being put on the spot, he hesitated, trying to think of how to answer the girl. "The... rebels are currently in control of the District... So since the Peacekeepers don't have many to spare, they've... pulled back in a temporary retreat."

"You're lying," Katniss let go of Gale's waist, turning to completely face the Peacekeeper, eyes narrowing dangerously. "What are the Peacekeepers doing there?"

"T-they..." the red head shifted his eyes up towards Haymitch, apologetically.

Haymitch sighed, quickly taking the stress off the younger man. "They're possibly thinking of flattening 12 like they did 13."

"What?" Peeta's voice suddenly rang. Letting go of Effie, he rushed over to the group, eyes wide. He looked right to Darius. "That's a lie, they couldn't possibly-!"

Darius turned his head away from him, almost ashamed. Gale's eyes darted between Haymitch and Darius. While his family was safe in Bonum, there were still many people back at District 12 he had grown closer to. He reached out, putting a hand on Katniss's shoulder to steady himself. "We need to find a way to stop it."

Katniss just stared at Darius, disbelievingly, not able to speak. She furrowed her eyebrows, turning to look up at Gale.

Haymitch shrugged slightly, apologetically. He wasn't as affected as the other District 12 Tributes, having nothing left there that he could lose. It wasn't his home anymore. "We don't even know where the attack would be coming from, if it's still happening, or when it would happen. We don't even have a way out of District 6 right now."

"We can exit from the broken fence around District 6. We can steal another train and get there and then..." His mind went blank as he tried to figure out what to do from there. If they were planning on bombing the District, being in 12 wasn't going to help anything. It would only cause more casualties.

But, still, Gale wouldn't give up. He had grown close to too many people - from co-workers at the mill like Thom to the Hob's regulars like Greasy Sae. But who he wanted to save the most was the first to pop into his mind. A family he didn't even really know. Madge's.

"We won't be able to stop the bombing," Katniss finally spoke up, her voice quiet and somber. "But we can get everyone out before they are bombed. Get them to escape, possibly not on the train because it might be a lot of people, but we can try. We can at least get them over the fence and into the woods where they'll be safe. We can't just... leave them there." Her voice broke slightly on the final word and she chewed on her thumb nail, glancing away.

Although the only person Katniss truly had left was Prim and she was safe, she still felt an intense need to protect the people of District 12. The people who were fighting so hard for the rebellion and for her, the Mockingjay. The people who had supported her and Peeta through the Games. The people who had taken squirrel, rats, and other gamy meat just because they had loved her father and didn't want to see her or her family starve. She couldn't just sit back and watch them die.

"Then we can't waste anymore time," Peeta spoke up, looking directly at Katniss and Gale. Any argument they had, any hurt she had caused him, was pushed into the back of his mind. Peeta had no family, but he wasn't like Gale and Katniss. He made friends, many of them, during his childhood. "I need to make sure Delly and her family gets out."

"Madge's family," Katniss added quietly, glancing up at Peeta. The painter held her gaze for a moment longer before giving a quick nod as Gale looked towards them as well. It seemed they all had the same goal in mind and all for the same reasons.

"Then we're all going in there together," the hunter finished. He turned back towards Haymitch and Darius. "Let's get to Paylor. Now."

Haymitch, still looking skeptical, gave a slight nod, knowing there was no way out of this. Katniss instantly wrapped her arm back around Gale's waist, a new purpose wiping away her suddenly insignificant thoughts of Gale and Peeta.

* * *

><p>About an hour passed until the group of soldiers made their way into the residental area. All the streets were silent, empty, and littered with glass and ammo showing the fight that happened not long ago. A few vehicles were torched and still burning along the sidewalks of the abandoned street. The soldiers fell quiet as they walked through the silent streets. The only sound was the glass crunching beneath their boots. Katniss cautiously shifted her eyes around, to the burning vehicles and houses, as if expecting Paylor to be hiding behind one of them.<p>

Paylor wasn't, but one of the men who followed her was. From one of the windows, the man's dark face and darker hair stared out towards Katniss, recognizing her instantly. His eyes met with hers before signalling with his head towards the alley beside the house before vanishing. Katniss stopped in the middle of the street before tugging slightly on Gale's waist, looking up at him. "I saw one of Paylor's men."

Gale stopped his walk. "Where?"

"In that house," she said, pointing toward the window where the man had disappeared. "He looked like he wanted us to meet him behind it."

Gale looked towards the window before nodding. "Okay, lead the way, Katniss."

She nodded slightly. She gripped Gale's waist tighter before heading as quickly as they could to the alleyway behind the house. Gale followed right beside her as all the soldiers followed close by. As they got through to the back of the house, Paylor stood with arms crossed and her men around her.

Katniss's eyes instantly landed on Paylor as she rounded the corner, the soldiers following her and Gale. She chewed on her lip, pushing back the feeling of intimidation at the woman's face and stance. Paylor patiently waited as the soldiers all gathered in the alleyway. It was small and claustrophobic, but she showed no care. Her eyes fell on Gale and Katniss. "Your mission?"

"Completed," Katniss stated, strongly. "However, we have another issue."

"Is that why _he_ is here?" she spat, her eyes falling on Darius who stood at Haymitch's side. The red head took a few steps back from her, unable to mask his intimidation as well as Katniss.

"He's not like them," Katniss instantly replied coolly, glancing Paylor up and down as if she was ignorant. "He's a friend from home."

"You mean he's a Peacekeeper assigned to keep justice in order of District 12. Regardless, I'm certain you haven't been looking for me to debate. Why haven't you returned to your craft and left?"

For the first time, Katniss's cheeks turned slightly pink in embarrassment. "It's irretrievable in District 2. We need to contact President Pyrrhus."

"District 2? The entire purpose of you coming to 6 was to avoid-"

"Commander Paylor, with all due respect, this is urgent," Gale interrupted but put on the most formal and authoritative tone he could manage. "We have inside information of an upcoming attack and need to discuss matters with President Pyrrhus. Now, if you would please."

Katniss just glanced up at Gale thankfully, not wanting to look incompetent in front of the extremely intimidating woman. Paylor stared down at the boy before resigning the argument. A nod was the only response he got before she began to walk off towards the industrial section of the District.


	36. Tenacity

Chapter 36. Tenacity

It took another hour before the group managed to get to the warehouse Paylor had claimed for herself and men. By this time, Gale was sweating from overusing his leg. He was putting the majority of his weight on Katniss, practically dragging his legs forward. He was afraid to ask the medics for any medication though as he knew they had to be running low. Katniss helped Gale into the warehouse silently before instantly forcing him to sit down on the floor. She was sweating as well from having to force herself to drag Gale, who outweighed her by quite a bit. She brushed the sleeve of her shirt across his sweaty forehead, frowning.

"You need morphling."

Gale shook his head. "We n-need to conserve it. Just let me rest it, I'll be okay."

"You're hurt, Gale. I'm sorry, but you're too big... I can only carry you for a little longer."

"I just need to rest here, I p-promise..." He turned his attention towards the soldiers as they walked in. He waited for Haymitch to walk in before looking to him. "A-Abernathy."

Haymitch looked over at the Gale on the floor with Katniss kneeling before him with a concerned expression and raised his eyebrows slightly. He made his way over quickly. "What is it, kid?"

"I-I need you to talk to the President," he sighed, not liking all the attention he was getting because of his leg. He felt pathetic. The older Victor just nodded after a second before turning away to talk to Paylor. He paused though, glancing back at the dark haired boy on the floor.

"You probably need some morphling if you're going to be useful at all."

"If I h-had something like a crutch..." he muttered but turned his gaze away from them. It wasn't worth arguing anymore.

"Just sayin'," was all Haymitch replied with before walking over to Paylor.

Katniss immediately frowned, standing up. "I'll go out while Haymitch is busy talking to the President. I can find you something to walk with."

Gale immediately reached up, though, and grabbed her hand. "Don't."

She looked down at him, frowning a little more. "Why not?"

"Just... stay here with me, okay?" He knew she was tired of everybody protecting her, so he tried play on his own insecurities instead. "We'll g-go look after Haymitch's call."

Katniss just stared down at him for a moment, searchingly, before smiling a little at his answer. She nodded, satisfied, before kneeling down in front of him. "Alright. I'll stay here for you."

Gale moved his hand down, grasping her's in his before smiling. "T-thanks."

"Over here then," Paylor looked towards Haymitch before leading him to a covered blanket. She pulled the cover off, revealing a small, dated computer. Haymitch walked straight over to Paylor.

He turned his eyes down to the computer. "What is that?"

"Our only form of communication. We managed to swipe it from the Capitol not too long ago when my men went to rendezvous with a pair of rebels there," she explained before booting up the system. "It's an older model so it will take awhile."

"Right..." Haymitch trailed off, inspecting the computer with his head tilted to the side. "I think these were used during my Games. So, by 'older model', you mean 'ancient'."

"It's the best he could find us. I won't complain."

"As long as you know how to use it, I won't either."

She gave him a reassuring nod before working at the monitor. After a few minutes, a screen popped up revealing the inside of the Bonum Justice building. The screen was a little static-y and shaky but the image was clear enough, though nobody was on the other side.

"He'll be alerted of the call soon," Paylor explained before pulling a chair out for Haymitch to sit in front of the screen.

"Such a gentleman," Haymitch smirked at her before sitting down heavily in front of the computer.

"When we're done here, I need to check on the Capitol rebels so keep it brief," she looked to him before pulling a chair for herself. She gave him a slight, sarcastic smile before turning back to the screen. After a few minutes, the chair before the screen in Bonum was pulled out and the grey haired President Pyrrhus sat before it. He looked slightly surprised when his eyes went to Haymitch.

"Abernathy, I didn't expect you."

Haymitch looked back at the screen immediately, sitting up a bit straighter. "Sorry, sir, but we've run into a slight problem. One- Everdeen and Mellark made us lose our hovercraft and now we're stranded in District 6. And two- we have news on an upcoming attack of Panem against the rebels."

"An attack? We'll discuss that momentarily, but first, your mission?"

"Mission completed. Everdeen took down Thread."

He gave him a nod. "Very good then. Now explain to me your situation and what you've learned."

Haymitch glanced at Paylor before quickly giving Pyrrhus the shortest and most accurate version of the tale that he could. The President listened without interruption as he explained Gale's plan of hijacking another train to get to District 12 before the Peacekeepers could bomb it. President Pyrrhus absorbed everything Haymitch told him, considering the possibilities.

"And your plan on escaping back to Bonum?"

"We hadn't gotten that far, sir," Haymitch admitted. "We were hoping you could help us there."

The President remained silent for a long while, contemplating their options. "I'll need to speak with the council before I can give you any certain answers, but we would be willing to send Lt. Zephyr and a squad of crafts to aid in your escape. You will have your answer tomorrow. Heal your injured and rest for now."

Haymitch just nodded shortly. "Thank you, President."

The man gave a quick nod before the screen turned black. Paylor immediately looked back towards Haymitch. "If you need and can wait, I can try to secure more medical supplies for your medics. We can have them prepared and shipped from the Capitol within the next two days."

Haymitch hesitated for a moment before glancing back at Katniss and Gale, making sure they were too far away to overhear his conversation. He glanced back at Paylor and nodded. "We can wait."

"Move over," she commanded before inputting some new information into the computer.

He made a face before standing up to get our of her way. "Bossy."

She ignored his comment and moved to his seat as a new screen popped up. Very different to the image when speaking with President, the new screen seemed to be in a basement with tons of furs and sewing supplies in the background. A woman's face flashed in the foreground, but she looked arguably human. Her face was stretched and tattooed with black and gold tiger stripes and nose flattened to resemble a snout.

"Tigris," Paylor looked to the woman. "Let me speak with Cinna or Portia.

Haymitch widened his eyes slightly before looking down at the screen. Katniss, however, perked up after hearing Cinna's name. She stood up from Gale and ran over to the screen, peering around Paylor's shoulder at the computer.

"You never want to just chat with me anymore," she joked but arose with a slight smile. She disappeared from the screen before Cinna sat in the chair instead. The man hadn't changed much other than growing a few inches out in his dark brown hair and his trademark golden eyeliner still brightened up his green eyes. He looked to Paylor briefly before his gaze turned towards the Mockingjay behind her.

"Oh, it's nice to see you again, Girl on Fire," he smiled softly.

"Cinna!" Katniss sighed in relief and smiled at his face on the screen. "I was so worried. You're alive."

"Portia and I both are quite alive and well, thanks to Tigris," he assured her. "How have you been? I can see your fire has been burning brightly all over Panem."

She blushed slightly but smiled. Cinna always knew the right thing to say. "Bright enough, I guess. Are you two still in the Capitol? Has it changed?"

"Yes, we're still in the Capitol. There's a shortage of... well, almost a little bit of everything," he laughed. "Even here, your influence is strong. There haven't been any uprisings or anything like what Commander Paylor here has seen and I'm certain you have too, but there is unrest in the citizen's concerning the government's... capabilities. Portia and I have been keeping up with all the rumors locally."

"Cinna, we're going to need some supplies," Paylor cut in, trying to bring the focus of the conversation on the matter at hand. "Medically speaking."

"Portia can get you those, as always. We'll need you to send the transport for it."

"Easily."

Katniss stood up straight so her face was no longer in view of the screen. "Morphling, mainly."

"Not an issue. Tigris knows a few suppliers we can purchase from. There's a lower demand for it compared to the more glamorous drugs the Capitol citizens purchase so we can get as much as needed."

"Thank you, Cinna. We'll have the transport sent today. Have it ready for tomorrow," the commander replied before standing up. She turned her attention back towards Katniss. "If you want to speak with him, you can. Just keep it as brief as possible."

Katniss just nodded quickly, motioning for Paylor to move from the screen. The commander obeyed as she stepped aside, wandering off to her men to discuss the transportation of the medicine.

Katniss immediately took her vacated chair and smiled at Cinna, a little sadly. "Were you okay after we left? Nothing happened, right?"

"Everything went according to Plutarch's plans. We managed to escape without getting caught. My and Portia's assistants all managed out alright. Unfortunately, Plutarch's betrayal to the Capitol was discovered recently. We haven't heard from him since."

Katniss couldn't even keep her sad smile anymore. She frowned a little. "We should have taken you all with us."

"We're much more useful here, I promise. Tigris has been taking care of us well, so you don't need to worry for us. You have enough on your plate. You've turned into a rather wonderful Mockingjay."

"I'm glad someone thinks so." She smiled at him slightly. "Although I'm afraid I'm a little less than dazzling without your outfits."

"You're just as dazzling without them. They only emphasize," he smiled back to her before his face turned more serious. "I saw your speech. Don't doubt yourself, Girl on Fire. All of Panem looks up to you, as do I."

Katniss physically restrained herself from touching the screen. She nodded, lowering her eyes briefly so he wouldn't see the emotion behind them. Her gaze finally went back at the computer when she was sure she wouldn't embarrass herself in front of her favorite Capitol citizen. "Thank you, Cinna. I promise we'll see each other again, hopefully soon."

"I look forward to it, Girl on Fire," he smiled again at her. "I've been busy at work for the day you rise from the fire victorious."

She just smiled at him widely, feeling for the second time that day something akin to determination. "I can't wait."


	37. Respite

Chapter 37. Respite

Katniss turned away from the screen when Cinna's face disappeared from it and it turned black. She was still smiling a little, glad she had gotten the chance to see and talk to him, if only for a brief moment. Seeing that he was okay was enough for her at the moment. She stood up after another second and walked back over to Gale.

The hunter looked up towards her from his spot on the ground. The sweat from his brow was gone and he looked much more relaxed then before. Hints of pain were still evident in his eyes but it was significantly less.

She sat next to him this time instead of kneeling, due to the pain it caused to the burns on the back of her legs. "Are you okay? I can get you some morphling, if you want. Cinna and Portia are going to get us more."

He shook his head towards her but turned slightly. Closing his eyes, he rested his head on her shoulder. "I just need to rest."

She chewed on her lip a little before wrapping her arm around his shoulders. She kissed the top of his head once and nodded. "You rest, then. I'll sit here with you, okay?"

"That's all I want right now."

"Me too," she replied quietly, setting her cheek on the top of his hair gently.

Gale gave her a gentle smile, though from her angle she couldn't see it. He slowly and lightly wrapped an arm around her waist, uncertain if the burns on her back would be irritated if he wasn't careful. "Katniss..."

"Hm?"

"I love you."

Katniss instantly smiled against Gale's hair and tightened her grip around his shoulders. "I love you too, Gale."

His arm around her waist tightened slightly as well, but his smile faltered. In actuality, the reality of their upcoming situation was overwhelming him. The thought of everybody in District 12 being under attack and the idea that his injuries would prevent him from being useful scared him. The hunter closed his eyes before hiding his face in her shoulder slightly.

She glanced down at the top of his head for a moment, moving her hand to his hair. "Gale, what's wrong?"

He shook his head slightly before wrapping his other arm around her as well.

"Gale, talk to me," Katniss pleaded softly, comfortingly, setting her other hand on the side of his face. "Are you worried about 12?"

"I'm... yeah, a little," he finally admitted. "I don't want to be useless."

She lifted his head, forcing him to look at her. "You can't do anything about your leg, Gale. But you've never been useless and you never will be. Regardless of whether or not you can run, you're a great Commander and you just have to do what you are able to, okay?"

Gale stared up at her, his smile slowly coming back. "You really think so? That I'm a good Commander?"

She smiled back at him slightly. "Did I just give you an unintentional ego boost? You don't need that."

"Probably not, but it's your fault for giving me one," he laughed.

"It was an accident," she chuckled before kissing his forehead gently. "And I didn't say good. I said great."

"Oh. So my ego's even bigger now. Thanks, Catnip."

"I can't help it. I'm addicted to complimenting you, apparently."

"I don't mind it. Keep them coming," he joked.

She pretended to think for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't have any more. I guess that means there's nothing else redeeming about you."

"Really? Am I going to have to try harder to impress you?"

"Probably."

"What else can I do?"

She tried to look at him seriously, but the corners of her mouth quirked up. "That's so sad. You can't think of anything else redeeming about yourself either?"

"I can think of a few things actually. But if I say them, you'll just call me a pervert again," he laughed.

"Being a pervert isn't the worst thing you could be, if I'm honest," she replied quietly, even as her cheeks turned pink and she bit her bottom lip.

"It isn't?" he blinked, looking up towards her. He immediately smirked and reached up, putting a hand on her cheek. "Catnip, your face is looking kinda red."

She slapped his hand away before crossing her arms. "It's hot in here."

"No, that's just you," he egged on, trying to get her as flustered as possible, partially out of fun and partially as revenge for tickling him earlier. Katniss's cheeks just turned redder and she scooted away from him, setting her hands over her face.

"I'm going to kill you."

He couldn't help but laugh at that, but tried to bite his tongue against it to keep a serious face. Gale leaned up while her face was hidden before kissing the back of her hand. "I'm just being honest."

"No, you aren't. You're being mean," she glanced at him from between her fingers slightly, even as she spoke. "And if you don't stop, the tickling will begin again."

At her threat, the hunter immediately reached up and grabbed hold of both her hands. He pulled them away but instead of holding them tightly to prevent her from tickling, he leaned up and kissed her instead. Katniss didn't even mind that he had restrained her. She just instantly kissed him back, curling her hands uselessly against his. Gale slowly pulled back after a minute but his lips still lingered close to hers and his hands still held hers. "Am I still being mean?"

Katniss opened her eyes after a moment and looked into his. Her cheeks grew warmer and she shook her head slightly after a moment, clearing her throat. "No. No, that was definitely not mean."

The hunter gave her a small smile before pulling away. He released one hand before sitting back up with his back to the wall. He kept her other in his hand though, his fingers sliding between hers. His eyes cast to his lap. "We'll make it in time," he said suddenly.

She smiled slightly after a moment, leaning against the wall next to him. She nodded a little and squeezed his hand. "We have to."

* * *

><p>The two days passed and Gale couldn't be anymore grateful for the rest. The pain in his leg had greatly subsided since he wasn't using it and the rest had done wonders for his fatigue. He still sat in his spot on the ground with his back to the wall, eyes closed and fast asleep. Katniss had rarely left Gale's side while he rested. Mainly, although she wouldn't admit it out loud, because she needed the rest as well. The exhaustion that had plagued her since her brush with death had disappeared and, while the back of her legs and neck were still red, they weren't hurting anymore besides the occasionally twinge when she crouched or shifted into an awkward position. She finally began to feel like, perhaps, she could be useful in District 12 instead of a burden. She quietly watched Gale sleep, deep in thought, with her cheek resting on her knees.<p>

With her attention diverted, a metal plate was pushed along the ground towards her. Once the plate of food was by her feet, Peeta placed a glass of water beside it. "You should eat," was all he said.

The girl paused before glancing down at the food and then up at Peeta. She frowned a little. "Thanks, Peeta."

"I overheard Paylor and Haymitch talking. I think they're planning on us leaving with the train the medicine comes on." The painter straightened up to a stand before looking towards the rest of the soldiers. "So you need to hurry and wake him soon."

"I will," she replied quietly. She hesitated briefly, like she wanted to say something to the blond boy in front of her, before just turning her eyes away from him and shaking Gale gently.

The hunter groaned slightly. At first, he fought weakly against her shakes, not wanting to awaken yet. However, once the memories of what happened last time resurfaced, he forced his eyes open. "Hm?"

Katniss smiled at him slightly when he looked at her. "We're leaving to get onto the train pretty soon. Eat," she pushed her plate toward him.

Gale stretched his arms out slightly, giving her a smile. "Thanks, Catnip."

Peeta looked down at the two briefly as Gale reached out for the plate. Without a word, he turned and walked away from the two.

"You're welcome," she replied with a grin, keeping her eyes from Peeta's general direction.

"Gale?" Willow's voice came from his other side, although there was a hint of something rare in her tone. Embarrassment with maybe a bit of concern. The hunter glanced over towards her, mouth half-full of food. He forced the food down.

"What's up, Willow?"

The small girl pulled her arm out from behind her wordlessly and held out a long, slender, dark, smooth, straight plank of oak wood. It was durable and she had clearly whittled it into a cane for his purposes because there were a few deep marks toward the top meant to enable him to grip it better. Gale furrowed his eyebrows at the cane before looking up towards her. A small smile crept across his face. "Did you make this?"

Her tanned cheeks quickly turned pink and she just thrust the cane closer to Gale, refusing to meet his eyes. "Just take it."

The hunter's smile never faltered as he grasped onto the cane. However, he reached out with his other hand and put it on top of hers. Willow faltered for a moment before looking down at him.

"Thank you, Willow."

She fought back a smile before letting go of the cane. "It wasn't a big deal."

"Can I ask a favor of you?" he asked before slowly getting up to a stand, using the cane to balance himself out.

She turned her eyes up toward him as he stood, raising her eyebrows. "What's that?"

"I know you're still young, too young to be in a war like this, but you're strong. Possibly even stronger than me and certainly more calm..." He let out a sigh before putting a hand on her shoulder. "If anything happens to me and if Haymitch really quits, as I know he will, I'd want you to take my place."

Willow just stared up at her ally-turned-commander-turned-friend for a moment, emotions flickering through her eyes quickly. Confusion, then comprehension, and finally excitement. After a moment, her face broke out into one of the most genuine smiles that had ever graced it. "Really?"

He smiled softly at her and nodded. "Really."

Unable to contain herself, she threw her arms tightly around Gale's waist and pressed her cheek against his chest. "I'd be honored! Oh, thank you!"

The hunter's eyes widened, not used to this much emotion coming from the usually calm girl. Still, he smiled and wrapped an arm around her with a laugh. "I've never seen anyone so excited at the possibility of me failing. But you're welcome."

She glanced up at him, embarrassed. She quickly pulled away, clearing her throat and punching him in the chest in a more macho display of affection. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

Gale just gave her a small laugh before putting a hand on the top of her head, looking down at her. "I know, I know. I'm only messing with you. I'm glad you're happy with it."

Willow smiled up at Gale until she caught Katniss's eye. The Mockingjay was eyeing her with some akin to jealousy before quickly looking away. The younger girl blinked once before forcing another smile. "I'm going to go tell Amur. He's going to be so jealous."

"I bet he will be," the hunter smiled before dropping his hand.

Before the girl could walk away, however, Paylor suddenly arose from her computer. She walked to the center of the room and looked around towards everybody.

"It's time."


	38. Commands

Chapter 38. Commands

Katniss slowly stood up beside Gale, making sure to be careful in order to not hurt her legs. Anxiety suddenly began to course through her body at the thought of going back home, back to District 12. Gale could almost sense her panic. He reached over, grasping onto her hand. He turned back towards her with a soft smile. "Let's go save them."

Katniss seemed to visibly relax to his touch. She turned her eyes up towards his and smiled determinedly, nodding once. Gale turned back towards Paylor and the other soldiers. One by one, the soldiers came to a group before the female commander. Commander Paylor patiently waited for all to congregate before her. Once all were accounted for, she began. "The train will arrive at the station soon. My men and I will accompany you until you reach the station, same as last time. We do not foresee any problems with Peacekeepers but we can never be too safe. Once on the train, you'll be on your own."

Katniss, along with all the soldiers, listened intently to the commander. While she was comforted a little by Paylor's words that there shouldn't be any Peacekeepers intercepting them, a new fear began to rise inside her. According to Darius, District 12 was bad. Without Paylor and her soldiers, they had a new, weaker, in love Haymitch and Gale and herself were both injured. They were at a significant disadvantage before they even arrived.

Regardless of this, Gale's confidence never faltered. He couldn't let it. The hunter nodded towards the commander, reminding himself that he was, regardless of his condition, in charge of the operation. He had to become a leader again.

His attention averted towards Willow and Haymitch. "Pierce, Abernathy. Once we're on the train, we'll divide the soldiers into three groups. We'll be able to cover more ground in District 12 that way."

Although Willow flushed in pleasure at being appointed to lead her own group, she kept her professionalism. She nodded solemnly, as did Haymitch. The young, dark haired General continued. "Victors wise, Pierce take Amur as always but I want you to also have Darius accompany you. He'll show you toward the Eastern end of the District. Abernathy, Chaff and Johanna will accompany you with Effie and take the more populated areas. Me, Katniss, and Peeta will cover the rest. With my leg how it is, I'll need her speed and his strength. Split the medics evenly and my team will take the spare cameramen. Sound good to everyone?"

Willow glanced back at Darius briefly. Having no knowledge of this man before they picked him up and not trusting Peacekeepers in general, she was wary. However, Gale was in charge and good soldiers didn't argue, so she just turned her eyes back to her commander and nodded quickly, offering no objections and figuring she and Amur could handle themselves.

Peeta, however, looked slightly uncertain about the decision. His eyes fell on Gale, who didn't seem to notice him. The blond almost knew for certain that the hunter wanted him there to protect Katniss, which Peeta knew he couldn't help but do. But that didn't make the fact he was just being used hurt any less. Katniss immediately turned her eyes slightly toward Peeta. She, of course, knew what Gale was doing as well because he was always so predictable. However, by the look on her face as she gazed at the blond boy, it was clear that while she was clearly worried, she was also fed up with being protected.

When Gale heard no verbal complaints on the matter, however, he turned towards Paylor. "We're ready."

* * *

><p>The transport to the train station was exactly as Paylor predicted. Not many Peacekeepers remained in District 6 so there was little to no threat of an attack. Gale led the group, gripping his cane with one hand and holding a handgun with the other. He had, begrudgingly, traded weapons with Effie. With only one arm available, he wouldn't be able to hold the larger machine gun properly while Effie wouldn't need to aim as accurately with the automatic weapon, if she needed to fight. Still, the look on the woman's face when Gale proposed the trade was almost as amusing as her attempts at figuring out how to hold it.<p>

As they walked to the train, Haymitch chuckled. He hung his gun from his functioning shoulder and tilted Effie's gun so she was holding it correctly, but then he paused. "You know, if we get attacked, just hide behind something."

Effie turned her gaze up towards him before shaking her head. Pulling the fountain pen from behind her ear, she wrote on the back of her own hand, "**_I'll be okay_**."

"If you're sure. It's just a really powerful weapon, especially for you, Effie."

She put the pen back behind her ear before pointing to the message she just wrote again. He had done so much to save her already. She didn't want him to have to worry anymore. As they finally came into view of the train, Haymitch just shrugged, sighing. Regardless of what she communicated to him, he was still going to worry about her. "Whatever you say."

Once the group got onto the station, Paylor stepped ahead of everybody else. Gun in her arms, she kicked the door twice of the vehicle instead of knocking. When two knocks came back, she eased her grip and opened it. Inside, the darkened skin rebel Katniss had first seen in the residential area stood with his gun as well. The two nodded briefly at each other before he stepped out. Paylor turned towards the group. "All your supplies are inside the train. Your ride should take a few hours, roughly around five to six. Good luck."

Haymitch looked at Paylor for a moment before nodding. "Thank you, Commander Paylor. You've been most helpful. I would say I hope to see you again, but that would be a lie because that usually means trouble."

Paylor let herself give a small chuckle towards him.

"Hopefully on much less oppressive and violent terms. Now, move out," she commanded as her and the male rebel moved from the open door. Haymitch nodded once at the female commander before stepping onto the train, pulling Effie with him, before the rest of the soldiers began to follow him. Paylor and her men stood at attention, seeing off the soldiers. She waited for the last of the group to enter, but the sounds of gunshots immediately began to echo in the background. It wasn't soon before the first of her small group of men fell to the ground, a bullet to his hip. Willow, the last onto the train, turned back quickly to look from the door, just in time to see the man fall. She immediately raised her gun, more out of instinct than anything else.

But a hand grabbed her shoulder. Paylor pushed Willow back with as much force as she could through the train's doorway. "Go!"

Willow fell backwards into the train but instantly scrambled to her feet. "We can't leave you-"

Haymitch, however, instantly slid the door shut in the middle of Willow's sentence. "We have to."

The bullet storm continued outside even as the train began to move from the station. The sounds of Paylor's voice barking orders to her men could vaguely be heard over the roaring sound of the train's engine. Before the vehicle fully left the station, the voices abruptly stopped. A stream of blood splattered across the window of the train door before the view of District 6 outside vanished in a blur now mixed with trees and open grassy plains.

The soldiers inside the train were silent. Willow's hand remained on the window where the blood was splattered before she suddenly turned her eyes onto Haymitch. Instead of the usual calm sea green, they were moist with tears and extremely angry. "After all she's done for us and you just abandoned her there. You left them to die!"

Haymitch, however, didn't acknowledge her. He just glanced at the congregated soldiers. "We're in for a long trip. Get comfortable and rest before we enter 12. We're all going to need it."

The group of soldiers slowly nodded as they began to disperse into the train. A large hand reached down, holding Willow's shoulder. "Willow," Amur tried comfortingly, looking down at the younger girl.

Willow glared at Haymitch and Effie's retreating backs before turning her eyes up to Amur, tensely, a muscle in her jaw twitching. "Why is that okay? Because he's partly in charge? That gives him the right to pass judgment on who dies?"

"He didn't choose. Commander Paylor did, Willow. She's ready to give her life for this cause, like many others are. She pushed you in. She knew the consequences."

"Then she was an idiot too," Willow snapped, pushing his hand off her shoulder. "It doesn't have to be like this."

"I'm sorry, Willow, but it was what she thought was best. We need as many hands to protect District 12 as possible. You need to try and understand her thoughts."

"District 12 is a lost cause and we all know it," she replied, lashing out in her anger. "We're only going because, if we don't, Katniss will pitch a fit and we can't offend the Mockingjay's delicate sensibilities."

"Willow, we're going so we can save innocent lives. If we can save just a handful of people, then it's not a lost cause, you know that. Please try to calm down."

She fell silent, glancing toward the blood splattered on the window. She had more to say, but she knew Amur wasn't the person she should be raging at. He was the only thing she truly had left of her home. It was just hard for her, being unable to keep her promise for Joule's last dying wish. It seemed like she kept breaking it time after time, no matter how hard she tried to do the opposite. "You're right. Sorry."

Regardless of her words, Amur could tell she still was upset. The fisherman knelt down beside her so he was closer to her height before pulling her in to a cautious, soft hug. He could read her feelings almost too well. "You're strong. Stay that way, Willow."

Willow, ashamed of herself, refused to hug him back. Her pride wouldn't allow her. She did, however, push her forehead against his large shoulder, searching subconsciously for comfort. "Thank you, Amur."

"Anytime, Willow."


	39. Sympathy

Chapter 39. Sympathy

Immediately after seeing the blood on the window, Katniss slipped away from the group. She found an abandoned room filled with boxes and other containers. The Mockingjay sat down on one of the wooden boxes, feeling anxiety rising in her chest. Paylor, a woman she thought was invincible, was probably dead. Even if she wasn't fond of the woman, she was much stronger than Katniss, much stronger than the majority of the Victors. They were heading into District 12 with little to no plan and she couldn't help but feel like it could be a giant mistake.

Her movements didn't go unnoticed, though. Gale, who had been standing beside her the entire time, watched her slip away. He almost immediately felt a familiar sensation as he remembered when he was so mentally damaged that he hid in closets. He had wanted to be alone and talk to nobody, but the times he talked to Willow and Katniss during that rough time was when he seemed to heal the most.

Looking around, he made sure nobody was watching him before heading towards the room. He knocked lightly. "Katniss?"

Katniss pressed her lips together, stopping the stream of panicked breaths. There was a long pause as she forced the anxiety down, forced her breaths to become more controlled, before she opened the door, fixing a smile on her face. "Yeah?"

Gale looked down at her, concerned, but tried to force a smile for her sake. "You alright, Catnip?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I just found this really cool... storage place."

She winced internally at how stupid she sounded, but Gale humored her. He looked inside the room a little. "You go through the boxes yet? Might be something useful in them."

Her forced smile slowly turned genuine as she looked up at him. She shook her head gently, pushing the door open a little more. "No. You want to help me look?"

"Could be fun," the hunter nodded as he walked inside. He headed straight towards one of the boxes, resting his cane against the wall so he had both hands to search with. Gale reached toward the first box he found and began to open it, knowing Katniss would start to talk when she was ready.

Katniss closed the door behind them before leaning back against it, watching him. She chewed on her bottom lip. "Anything interesting?"

"Nothing really. Looks like it's just a lot of maintenance tools for the train," he sighed before looking back at her.

"Shame," she replied lightheartedly before tracing her fingers gently on the doorknob behind her. "Why did you follow me?"

Gale paused. He ran through the different scenarios but no matter what he said, they all seemed to end in a fight. With a small sigh, he stepped over to another box and sat down on it. "Because you looked like I did."

Her eyes followed him intently, as if memorizing his every move. "Like you did?"

"After the Quarter Quell," he added before grabbing his cane. He hesitated, allowing his fingers to trail across the woodwork of the stick. "I used to hide to avoid seeing everybody because I was scared of losing anybody else. The way you ran off sort of... reminded me of that."

Katniss's eyes cast to the floor as she grasped the door knob tightly, as if fighting the urge to flee from the situation. She cleared her throat quietly. "I'm just... scared. Nervous. I don't even know why, but I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and it's like I can barely breathe."

"I know." He tore his gaze from the cane and focused on her. "It's almost terrifying. You just want to be alone, but the notion of having nobody there only makes it worse."

She paused for a moment before meeting his eyes, searchingly. She dropped her hand from the door handle and took half a step toward him. "I don't want to be alone. Well, maybe a part of me does. But I knew you would follow me and I just... knew you would make me feel better."

Gale never took his eyes off her. He reached out when she stepped closer, grasping both of her hands in his. "I never want you to be alone, Catnip, and I never want you to be upset. I'll do anything I can to prevent that."

Katniss looked down at Gale anxiously for a moment before falling to her knees in front of him, pressing her forehead against their intertwined hands in a rare, vulnerable action. Gale's eyes widened at her motions, but he slowly frowned at her words. "Promise you won't leave me?"

"C-Catnip," he sighed her name. This was war. He knew that there was a chance he would be pulled into more battles after this one as a General and knew that meant he'd need to leave her to go out into the battlefield. But putting this all into comforting words was difficult. Slowly, he ran his fingers over her braid. "I can't promise that, but I promise I'll always come back to you."

She nodded after a moment, expecting this. She turned her eyes up towards his after a moment. No matter how long she sat there with him, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread. In fact, it seemed to grow, slowly overcoming her senses. "I need you," she finally whispered, brokenly.

Gale didn't even hesitate. The moment the words left her, he leaned down, pressing his lips against hers. He didn't need to say anything. It was evident by his actions and the urgency of his kiss that he felt the same. He needed her too.

Katniss immediately kissed him back hard, leaning up on her knees to reach him easier. Almost instantly, her hand found the zipper of his protective jacket, tugging it down quickly. Gale only let go of her for a second once the zipper was down. He pulled the jacket off, letting it drop to the ground. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her up from the ground, and setting her down on her lap.

Her hands immediately found their way into his hair, kissing him more desperately as she realized he wasn't going to question her or tell her no. She didn't care if they were in a dirty train storage room. She wanted him and he wanted her. His right hand rose up slowly, sliding under the lining of her shirt and touching her bare lower back. He traced his fingers gently up her spine before finally breaking away from the kiss slightly, still close enough to feel her breath on his lips. His eyes, filled with need and desire, locked with hers.

Katniss's eyes fluttered open and looked onto his, her desperation, lust, and love for the man in front of her clear. She bit her lip and pulled her hands from his hair before raising them slowly, her desire giving way slightly to nervousness. The dark haired man pulled the shirt up, dropping it to the side with his discarded jacket. His hands found their way to her back, his fingers softly running down as he kissed her shoulder briefly. He trailed his kisses up her neck until stopping at her ear, whispering, "I love you, Katniss."

"Gale." She let out a quiet gasp/moan combination before pressing her hands tightly against his shoulder blades, contrasting with the gentle kisses she began to place under his ear. "I love you. So much."

Suddenly, he was all over her and she was all over him. The only sounds were soft groans as they lost themselves in one another in that dusty, dank closet, District 12 suddenly the furthest thing from either of their minds.

* * *

><p>Peeta found a new bedroom in the train to claim for himself. Not even bothering with the door, the blond sat on the edge of the bed, pinching the bridge between his eyes to push back the headache threatening to surface. Stress was starting to overwhelm him, but most of all, depression and loneliness were beginning to rear their ugly heads again.<p>

Haymitch, attempting to find a place with Effie to relax until they reached District 12, paused as he passed the blond boy's door. He frowned, his mind automatically flitting back to the first day he had seen Effie on the broadcast with Thread and how Peeta had comforted him without question.

He motioned for Effie to stay in the hallway for a moment before stepping into the bedroom Peeta had secured for himself. "Hey Mellark. You alright?"

Peeta's eyes opened as he looked up to the older Victor. Blinking a few times, he looked towards the open door then back, cursing quietly under his breath. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."

Haymitch hesitated for a moment, rocking back on his heels, before sighing and sitting next to Peeta. He leaned back on his palms and looked sideways at the younger man. "You sure?"

"You seem a lot happier now with Effie back," the painter forced a smile, looking to Haymitch.

The older Victor couldn't help the smile that quirked at the corners of his mouth. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. It was hard at first, finding out she had become an Avox. You know, the anger, but I want her any way I can get her."

"Must be nice having her..."

Haymitch turned his eyes toward Peeta. "How's Katniss?"

"She doesn't need me," he replied bluntly, looking to the ceiling.

"Sure she does. You don't know that."

"She told me herself, Haymitch."

The older man paused for a moment, looking at Peeta. He leaned back on his elbows, setting his hands on his stomach for a moment before sighing. "You know, Everdeen and I... we've always been creepily alike, to the point where _once_ I even thought twice before giving her some alcohol. I don't want her to end up like me. I know you don't either. And that's why I'm going to tell you this: she and I... we often say things we don't mean."

Peeta looked towards the man, his expression almost resembling intrigue but also disbelief. "She's not going to pick me, Haymitch. I lost my chance."

"Trust me, kid. She doesn't even know who she's going to choose, so how would you know?"

"She's closer with Gale and he doesn't even have to try like I do. He's always been there for her, with her, protecting her and her family. What have I done for her? I mean, other than giving her burnt bread so long ago, I've been the one who needed her the most since. She doesn't need someone like me. She needs someone like him, someone that can take care of her and doesn't try to hold her back."

"She doesn't need someone to take care of her," Haymitch instantly replied, looking over at the blond. "I think she'd actually take offense to that. Think of the people she loves the most. Prim, her mother, Rue, you, and yes, even Gale. She takes care of all of you and, yes, she and Gale take care of each other. He has always been her best friend. You can't expect a girl like her to just drop him. But that doesn't mean she chooses him. If she had chosen him, she wouldn't have fought so hard to make sure both of you got out alive during the Games. She wouldn't have been so distraught when your mother died and she wouldn't have tried her hardest to be strong for you when your father died, even when Iris died at the same time. She loves you, Peeta. You'd have to be blind not to see it."

"What else can I do then? I don't know what else I can possibly do for her or how much longer I can take this."

"If you really can't just keep being there for her, and trust me, I would understand if you couldn't, just tell her. Tell her exactly how you feel. You're sure to get sympathy points, at least."

Peeta, however, just groaned slightly and pinched his forehead again. "I don't want sympathy, I just want... I don't even know when to approach her with this. I mean, with everything that's happening with this war and District 12 now..."

"We'll be back in Bonum soon, Peeta. Life doesn't end in District 12."

"I guess. Thanks, Haymitch."

"I guess my pep talk wasn't as good as yours, huh?"

The painter laughed a little before smiling at him. "The fact you even came and talked to me helped enough."

He paused before setting a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You're strong, Peeta. Stronger than anyone else on this train, I'd say. Don't let her push you down, alright?"

This caught him off guard. Peeta blinked, staring at him, slightly dumbfounded. "I didn't realize you thought that highly of me."

Haymitch hesitated another moment before releasing the blond's shoulder. "I think Effie's making me soft."

"Probably, but as long as you're happy, it doesn't matter."

The older Victor just shrugged slightly, looking back at Peeta. "You should take that advice for yourself as well, Mellark."


	40. Rebels

Chapter 40. Rebels

The hours seemed to pass almost too fast. The majority of the soldiers anxiously waited in the hallways of the train as the vehicle began to slow itself down. Still in the storage room, although fully dressed again, Katniss refused to move from Gale's chest, trying to get as much comfort as she could until they were forced to leave to save District 12. As the train began to slow to a stop, she finally lifted her head and looked down at him, sighing. Gale's eyes, however, were at the door. His arms tightened around Katniss before finally tearing his eyes away to look at her. Forcing a softened smile, he planted one kiss on her forehead. "You ready?"

She nodded slightly before pressing a brief kiss against his mouth. "We'll be okay," she said forcefully, as if reassuring herself as well as Gale.

"Of course we will," he nodded, still forcing the smile for both their sakes, before finally letting go of her.

She nodded back again before slowly getting to her feet. She tried to flatten her hair in vain before giving up and holding a hand down to him to help him up. Gale grasped his cane with one hand before grasping her hand with the other. He slowly pulled himself up to stand beside her. His arm again found its way around her waist, though, as he pulled her into a close embrace. "When we're back in Bonum, we'll go out and do something fun. Forget about this war for awhile, just us two. How's that sound?"

Katniss let out a soft laugh, nodding against his chest. "I'm going to hold you to that." She paused briefly as the train finally stopped moving completely under their feet. She turned her eyes up toward him, needing reassurance before they left the temporary sanctuary of their storage room. "You don't... regret what we did, right?"

"Regret it?" he blinked, staring down at her.

"Yeah," she mumbled, glancing away, her cheeks instantly turning pink. "I didn't know if you thought I... took advantage of you or something."

Gale immediately put both his hands lightly on her cheeks, forcing her to look up at him. He flashed a brief, genuine smile before pressing his lips against hers once more. She melted against him, kissing him back and setting her hands on his forearms. She pulled back slightly after a few moments, but kept her lips close to his. "Is that a no?"

"The only thing I regret is that it couldn't have been more romantic," he sighed, opening his eyes slightly and pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear. "I'll just have to make sure it is next time."

Her cheeks immediately turned redder, but she still smiled at him. "It was perfect to me. Now let's go before I force you into round two."

Gale laughed a little but nodded. The hunter reached down, grasping her hand in his, before walking through the door. Katniss bit her lip against another smile and followed Gale, feeling infinitely better than she did when they first got on the train.

Gale led her out into the hallway where they were almost immediately greeted by the group of soldiers. All stood at attention, weapons out, and waiting for orders. Peeta, however, stared at the two with more curiosity than anything else. His eyes scanned over the two's general appearances but mainly took notice of the messy state of Katniss's braid. The painter's face turned white.

The hunter looked over everybody before turning towards Haymitch, then Willow. "Are we all set then? Remember the plan?"

Haymitch nodded. "I would suggest we get into groups now while on the train and get off separately to avoid confusion."

"Of course. Once we've got as many people as we can, head towards the Seam fence. My team will take care of taking it down and we'll all retreat then to the woods to meet with the crafts."

Haymitch nodded again before moving to stand beside Chaff and Johanna, still holding Effie's hand. On Gale's other side, Willow moved to stand beside Darius and Amur, looking up at the Peacekeeper. "I'm afraid you're going to have to lead us everywhere. I've never been here before."

Darius looked down at the girl with a smile. "Anything you say, cutie."

Willow just stared at Darius, deadly serious. "If you call me that again, I won't hesitate to shoot you."

The Peacekeeper's smile instantly faded, causing Amur to let out a small snicker from behind Willow. Willow just turned her eyes from Darius, believing her point was made crystal clear. Gale looked over with a look of amusement before turning back towards the group. Peeta was the only Victor to not take his place yet. Katniss glanced around before her eyes fell on Peeta. She just blinked at him.

The painter's attention seemed to be elsewhere even though his eyes were on her. When their eyes met, Peeta immediately snapped out of his trance-like state and turned his head away. "Oh, sorry."

She frowned a little, biting her lip against the concern she wanted to express toward him. She couldn't bring herself to let him know she was worried about him after the argument they had in District 6. "Come on, you're with us."

The blond nodded in silence before walking towards the two of them. He took his position behind her and Gale, not wanting to look either of them in the eye. He had a hunch as to where they'd been these past few hours, but he refused to let himself believe it. Peeta didn't have to work very hard to avoid Katniss's eyes, however. She avoided his gaze like it would kill her to look at him before looking at Willow, Darius, Amur, and their soldiers. "You will probably take the longest, so you guys go first."

Gale looked towards Katniss briefly before nodding towards Willow. "Act fast. We're not sure when the bombs will be set off. Take no longer then two hours. We need to be safe."

Willow nodded at Gale before sliding the train door open quickly. She let her soldiers out, as well as Darius and Amur, before jumping out after them. Gale watched the group rush out, listening carefully. When he heard no gunfire or struggle, he was relieved. However, at the same time, it was also nerve wracking. The lack of security only meant that Darius was right and the threat of destruction was true.

He turned towards the rest of the soldiers, gripping his cane. "Let's split up and head out."

Haymitch nodded. He motioned toward Johanna, Chaff, Effie, and his soldiers briefly before quickly leaving the train as well, the quiet unsettling him as well. As the soldiers piled out with the Victors, Gale began to instruct his team out as well. As he barked out orders, urgency took over the majority of his senses as he began to wonder if two hours was too long to tell the other teams. Regardless, the men and women rushed into the streets of District 12 and began to head into their designated areas.

The District was in shambles. Much more damage had been done since their last visit and the majority of the buildings surrounding the station were abandoned and burnt. However, the homes in Victor's Village remained untouched, perhaps as a way of honoring the District 12 Victors for sparking the rebellion.

Katniss's eyes quickly glanced over the remains of their home. She quickly pushed the emotion that was threatening to emerge back down into her chest. While Haymitch had been instructed to head for the more populated sections of District 12, she didn't think Victor's Village constituted as populated at all. She glanced toward Peeta, hoping to diffuse the awkwardness between them. "Maybe some people have taken refuge in our house. That's where I'd go."

"We only have two hours to get everybody out. Should we really risk searching places for uncertainties?" Peeta's voice was almost cold, but he was obviously trying to mask it. He didn't want to sound bitter. Not here at least.

"Do you see anybody in the streets?" she shot back automatically, becoming slightly angry at his tone. "Not really, no. Either everyone's dead or they've taken residence in the one place untouched. Which seems like a better option to you?"

"We don't have time to fight," Gale barked at the two before Peeta could even react. "We'll check in the Victor's Village then make our way towards the richer region then the Seam."

Katniss gave Peeta a smug smirk, victorious, before taking off in front of the boys, toward Victor's Village. Peeta said nothing nor reacted to her smirk. He simply held his gun in both hands before running off after her. The soldiers followed as well, though Gale trailed slightly in the back. Holding his handgun, he tried to make it seem like he was watching from behind when, in reality, he wasn't able to keep up with his cane and his shin in a cast.

Regardless, the group as a whole made it to the Village. Peeta glanced quickly around the area, searching for signs of life.

Katniss stopped in the middle of the street, her eyes quickly scanning over the windows. She paused slightly, staring at her and Peeta's old house. A curtain had moved very slightly, so discreetly you wouldn't notice it if you weren't looking for it, in the window that used to be Prim's. She quickly ran over and pushed open the door, running into their former house.

Gale made it to the area in time to see Katniss run off. He grit his teeth slightly before looking to Peeta. "Mellark! I'll keep watch out here. Go after her!"

Peeta looked towards Gale briefly, biting back a comment. It was unlike him, but the sight of the hunter was making Peeta more angry by the second. However, he had to force these emotions away for now. He simply nodded before chasing after Katniss into their old home. "Katniss, hold on!"

Katniss simply stopped when she entered the house, staring around at the stillness, the silence, feeling an odd feeling creeping over her. She touched the corner of a chair, feeling strange that all of it was like they left it. She turned her eyes slowly to Peeta as he ran in. The painter slowed his run once he saw her looking to him. Now at a steady walk, he entered the house slowly, looking to the interior instead of her.

"It's... almost like we never left," he blinked as his eyes traveled around the main living room.

"It's eerie," she said softly, agreeably, turning her eyes from his and at the stairs. "Maybe you're right. Maybe nobody is here."

"We haven't been here for almost a year," he continued as he walked further into the house. As he walked, he ran his hand lightly over the television, checking his hand once he was done for dust.

There was a small amount of dust, but not as much as there should be. Suddenly, there was a small squeak from the wood of the stairs that was quickly quieted. Peeta's eyes shot up immediately as his hands went to his gun. The painter rushed towards the stairs, holding the weapon out for protection before stopping at the bottom, looking up.

Standing at the top of the stairs, clearly coming to inspect the source of noise, was a familiar pale girl with long, loose blond hair, pointing a stolen Peacekeeper's gun right back at Peeta. She was skinny, rivaling Katniss in her slimness, and her face and bare arms were dirty and scratched. She wore a black sleeveless shirt that had been burned so it fell just above her naval, an extremely loose pair of jeans were tied at her hips with a length of rope, and there were no shoes on her bare, dirty feet. A long scar that ran down the inside of her right arm became visible as she lowered her gun. "Peeta Mellark?"

The blond boy stared, not recognizing the girl at first until she spoke. His eyes slowly began to widen as his gun lowered as well. "Oh my... Delly? Is that really you?"


	41. Destruction

Chapter 41. Destruction

Delly dropped the gun on the floor before quickly darting down the stairs, throwing her arms around Peeta's shoulders in a tight hug. "I'm sorry. I thought you were a Peacekeeper!"

Peeta dropped his gun as well, though the strap over his shoulder caused it to just slide back. He wrapped his arms tightly around the girl, feeling the entire weight of his worry over her vanish from his shoulders. Still, something was off. She was so much more different then the Delly Cartwright he remembered. The daughter of District 12's shoemaker was always this clean, plump girl with a soft, smiling face. His embrace tightened slightly around her, trying to push from his mind the possibilities of what might have happened during his absence. "It's okay, Delly. I'm glad you're alright."

Delly pulled away from the embrace after a moment, giving him a familiar smile. She turned her eyes toward Katniss, her smile growing a little more. "I knew you guys would come back. I told everybody."

"Everybody?" he blinked as he dropped his arms.

"Yeah. Oh, sorry." She smiled at him good naturedly before knocking three times on the wall beside their heads. Suddenly, around ten people rushed to the top of the stairs, all from the Seam, mostly young adults but some children as well, all dirty and scarred. "Everybody."

Peeta's eyes scanned over the people, recognizing a few from around town but nobody who he was particularly close with. Slowly, his eyes turned back down towards Delly. "Where's the rest of our friends from the upper part of town? And your family...?"

The cheerful smile that had been present since seeing her old friend suddenly faltered on her face. One of her pale hands shook slightly on the banister. "Dead."

The painter's eyes widened a little. He was sad and angry, but it wasn't as much of a surprise to him. The people of the upper part of District 12 weren't survivors like those of the Seam, but he had hoped they would have stood a chance. Still, he was happy that Delly was still around. He reached over, putting a hand over her's on the banister. "I'm sorry, Delly."

Delly tore her eyes from Peeta's. "It's alright. Things happen. There may be more people in the Seam. I'm not sure. We're the only ones doing anything anymore."

Katniss shook herself from her shock. "Madge Undersee's family? Her's too?"

Delly turned her eyes back to Katniss's for a moment before nodding. "All the town people. Didn't last long with the violence and the lack of food. Not used to starving, you know. But Madge's family was forever ago. Taken out right after the Quell."

The Mockingjay nodded, turning her eyes away from Delly's, feeling regret stir in her stomach. She wasn't quick enough to save Madge in the Arena and she hadn't been fast enough to save her family either. Or the rest of the District 12 citizens. They should have gotten here sooner instead of letting everyone die. Peeta closed his eyes slightly, guilt building up in his chest. He was quickly pushed out of his feelings though as the door to the house thrust itself open. Gale stepped into the room immediately, looking to Katniss.

"What's taking so long? We need to hurry and cover more grou-," he started, before seeing the group of people.

Delly turned her eyes onto Gale, blinking for a moment in recognition of him. Katniss looked up at Gale. "This is all that's left of the rebellion, apparently."

Gale paused, looking at her. "It's not all that's left of District 12 though, it can't be. We need to hurry and move everybody out."

Delly cleared her throat delicately. "There's no one left in the town, Gale Hawthorne. Although there may be a few people left in the Seam. I haven't seen anyone else."

The hunter stopped. His gaze went first, slowly, towards Delly then back at Katniss. He shook his head, not believing her. "Gather them and we'll check the upper region."

Delly, however, suddenly felt an irrational amount of anger toward the hunter, someone she'd never even really spoken to. She stepped off the stairs, her blue eyes instantly flaring. "You listen to me. I've been here for a year, organizing rebellions, and I've watched them all die. I've held a vast majority of their hands as the life left them. You want to talk about 'wasting time'? Wasting time is holding out hope that they're still alive when you have eleven eye witnesses here, telling you they're _dead_!"

"The Peacekeepers are going to bomb District 12," he announced, an eerie coldness in his tone as he did. However, his eyes never looked to her. "Turn it into the new District 13. Are you so certain that the upper town is deserted that you'd risk not checking and possibly letting a stray, hidden few die?"

Delly seemed unsurprised at the information. "There are none hidden," she instantly replied. "If I wasn't one hundred percent sure, I wouldn't say this. I'm from the town. I tried to keep them alive. They're idiots and they're fragile and _they're dead_. You can waste time, searching the houses and the school and the shops, but that's all it is. A waste of time. Because _I've searched myself_ and only found corpses, starved and shot corpses of my parents and my brother and my friends. So, go ahead and search. But don't think you'll get any other results than I have."

At that, Gale turned his attention towards Delly. He eyed her for a moment, though he seemed more lost in his own thoughts and grief. He had told Madge he would make sure she saw her family again, but he didn't mean like this. He felt sick.

Slowly, he shook his head slightly and turned towards the door. "Then w-we head to the Seam."

Katniss turned her eyes toward Gale's face, knowing exactly how he was feeling because she was feeling the same. Unable to think of anything to say, she just set her hand on his back briefly, comfortingly, before heading back out of the house and toward the soldiers in the street.

Delly faltered, embarrassed at her outburst. She had taught herself to keep her emotions under control for the good of her crew, but the sight of Peeta had brought them all rushing out. She hadn't meant to yell at the hunter, but she didn't know how to apologize at this point. Peeta stepped back over beside his rebel friend. He looked at her briefly before sighing.

"Don't worry about it," he whispered to her. They had been friends for long enough that he could see what she was feeling. "He'll be okay. We just need to keep up with them and get everyone we can out safely."

Delly hesitated for only a moment before nodding. She glanced back at the group of people behind her. Even though a few of them were older than her, they stood, awaiting her orders. She motioned toward Katniss and Gale's retreating backs and the group instantly followed them. The blond girl smiled slightly before looking up at Peeta. "Thank you, Peeta. For coming back for us. I know you probably weren't looking for me, but I was hoping for you."

"Of course I was looking for you, Delly," the painter declared, almost looking hurt that she thought otherwise. "You're my best friend. I couldn't leave you here."

Her cheeks turned slightly pink in embarrassment but she smiled widely, a genuine Delly smile. She squeezed his hand once in a silent thank you before following her group of rebels. Peeta followed closely after Delly, holding his gun with both his hands tightly in case of any hostility.

As the group stepped from the house in Victor's Village, the choppy sounds of hovercraft blades echoed through the air around them. Gale, who stood at the front of the group, cast his eyes up towards the sky in horror. Several Panem hovercrafts were making their way to the District 12 and getting dangerously close. The sickness in his stomach only grew as realization hit him hard.

"They knew we were coming. They were waiting for us."

Katniss stepped up next to Gale, turning her eyes up toward the hovercrafts as well before looking to Gale. "We have to hurry to the fence. There's no time to look for anyone else."

Gale shut his eyes tightly but nodded. He reached into his pocket quickly before pulling out two coin purses identical to the ones Paylor had in District 6. He forced one into Katniss's hand. "Whoever gets within range of the fence first, throw it."

"Well, we know that's going to be me," Katniss took the coin purse, smiling, but it was forced and shaky.

He nodded before turning to the soldiers. "We run and don't look back! Let's go!"

Katniss gripped the bag of thermite securely in one hand before taking the small brown hand of one of the smaller children without thinking. She just knew she was the fastest one in the group and if she didn't help someone after leaving this District alone to fend for itself, she would never forgive herself. She quickly took off in the opposite direction, toward the Seam. The soldiers all began to follow quickly after. As the crafts continued to fly towards the District from behind them, other crafts flew towards the District from the opposite direction. The Bonum hovercrafts were still too far off to be of any aid to the group now, but their sight alone made the situation all the more hopeful.

Out of Victor's Village and towards the Seam, the group continued their run through the ghost town. The choppy sounds from the crafts progressively grew louder but were unable to block out the voice of the rebel's loudest Victor.

"Hey! Over here, Katniss!" Johanna's voice screamed from the west of them, but her tone was laced with fear and urgency.

Katniss glanced toward Johanna's voice quickly. She debated for a split second before hauling the small Seam boy she was basically dragging behind her into her arms, taking off in the direction of Johanna's voice. The group followed but the sounds of a man's screams pierced the air, followed quickly by Johanna's voice again.

"CHAFF!" she screamed out before her gun fired off a few times. As the group rounded the corner, it had almost looked like a zoo had been let loose. Snakes with bright orange eyes, giant bright pink birds with long beaks, and tracker jackers all flooded the street that Haymitch's squad were rushing down from. Chaff was bleeding from the stomach where a bird had stabbed him with its long beak while Johanna unloaded a clip of bullets into the creature that had attacked him.

Haymitch glanced back when Chaff screamed. He quickly let go of Effie's hand before rushing over to his friend, almost desperately. "Chaff!"

Katniss quickly pushed the boy behind a nearby building. She tucked the bag of thermite into one of her jacket pockets before pulling her gun into her hands, firing back at the muttations.

"Delly, keep everyone here!" Peeta called out before rushing after Katniss. A few of the soldiers followed after, as well as three medics for Chaff.

The bird fell as Chaff pulled the beak from his stomach. Johanna pushed him towards Haymitch, never taking her glaring eyes from the creatures before her. The man stumbled, losing a lot of blood but trying to hold his stomach to stop it. Haymitch instantly grabbed Chaff around the shoulders as soon as he was close enough, struggling slightly to keep the large man from falling to the ground. He refused to look at the other man's wound. Instead, he attempted to move him further, into safety. "Come on, buddy. Work with me!"

Chaff, however, shook his head slightly and put his good hand on his best friend's shoulder. "W-we don't have da time, Haymitch."

Haymitch just shook his head, tightening his jaw and pulling Chaff with all his strength. "Chaff... Chaff, shut up."

"Haymitch, yer all gonna die if ya drag me around like dis," he groaned as the medics rushed towards him.

Haymitch turned slightly to look his best friend in the eyes for the first time since he was attacked. "I'm not leaving you here."

"You're a stubborn sonava bitch, ya know dat?" he laughed with a wince as the medics forced Chaff on the floor. One of the females at his side looked up to Haymitch.

"Go aid the others. We'll bandage this as quickly as we can and get him morphling so he can run."

Haymitch looked at the medic, hesitant for a moment. He glanced back at the soldiers struggling to keep the muttations back before nodding, pulling his gun back into his functioning hand. He began running back toward Effie and Katniss, but not before calling back to them. "You better!"

Back in the street, Johanna was holding her gun out and spraying bullets almost at random. The bullets made contact with many of the birds and snakes, but the tracker jackers were too small for the bullets. While she focused on another snake, she didn't even notice as one of the tracker jackers came from her side.

"Johanna!" Willow's voice came from behind her. There was a tug at the back of Johanna's shirt as the younger girl pulled her backwards, quickly, and didn't stop moving. "We can't fight all of them! We need to get out of here!"

The woman almost tripped as she was pulled from the tracker jacker's path. She clung to the gun before looking towards the younger woman. "Willow- We have to keep fighting for awhile longer! So the medics can tend to Chaff!" she argued.

"I don't know about you, but I don't want to get stung by one of those damn things," Willow snapped back, though she did stop once they were much further back. "Do you have anything that could start a fire? Smoke weakens the tracker jackers and we can handle the other ones with our guns."

She thought to herself before shaking her head. "I don't, but we can't leave yet! They need time to-!"

The first bomb went off at the train station as sounds akin to thunder roared through the District. Johanna's complaints were lost over the noise and the threat of the muttations behind her were all forgotten.

The destruction of District 12 was beginning.


	42. Fall

Chapter 42. Fall

"Too late!" Willow screamed back at Johanna before taking the older woman's hand tightly in her own and sprinting for the fence. Johanna growled before throwing her gun over her shoulder. She turned her attention away from the explosion and the muttations towards Haymitch and Effie.

"MITCH! We can't push them back! We need to get Chaff and get out!"

Haymitch nodded hurriedly. He pushed Effie toward the fence, not exactly gently, before running quickly back toward Chaff, shoving his gun back over his shoulder. In the little amount of time they had, the medics had almost finished bandaging him but the gauze was already soaked in red. The man was sweating rather profusely but the almost drowsy look in his eyes and dilated pupils showed that they did have the time to administer the morphling. Haymitch instantly fell to his knees next to Chaff, holding a hand out to his friend to help him up. "Sorry, buddy, but we have to get going."

Chaff grumbled a few choice words towards Haymitch, but raised his hand up towards the man.

"Just don't let me fall over and I should be fine," the man slurred as he stood upright.

Everything was happening so fast that it was near impossible to keep track of everybody. A second bomb went off closer to the location of the soldiers, but now the Bonum hovercrafts were close on the horizon. They were close enough to spot the familiar owl crest on the sides but there was still a matter of getting close enough to the fence around the Seam to get to them. Gale took one glance around the group again, spotting that all of Haymitch and Willow's squads had managed to make it to their location.

"Everybody! To the fence, NOW!" he screamed out as loud as his vocal chords would allow so to be heard over the roaring sounds of buildings toppling over.

Haymitch quickly swung Chaff's good arm around his neck and began helping him as fast as possible to the fence. Katniss began backing up as the second bomb dropped. She scrambled backward, swinging her gun over her shoulder. She grit her teeth and spun, running after Willow and Johanna as fast as she could. The remainder of the soldiers and rebels followed soon after towards the fence. Peeta grasped on to Delly's wrist, almost afraid if he let her go, she would explode along with the buildings behind them. The majority of the Victors led the way as the fence in the Seam came into sight.

But the creatures behind them would not give up. The muttations were hot on their trail, but Gale took up the rear, aiming his handgun back towards them. He fired at a few of the birds, hitting them away from the group before they could get any closer.

But one creature seemed to slip by unnoticed. At Katniss's leg, a pair of claws dug into her calf as the unknown creature latched on to her. Katniss suddenly screamed as she reached the fence, spinning around anxiously, trying to kick the creature off her leg desperately. "What the hell-?"

But the familiar, hideous-looking tom cat refused to let go. He turned his rotten squash colored eyes up towards Katniss, hissing at her. Katniss, regardless of her hatred for the creature, sighed in relief that it wasn't something more sinister. "Buttercup! Don't scratch me, you useless thing," she said to Buttercup in relief as she grasped him awkwardly and pulled him into her arms.

At first, the creature hissed again and went to claw at her arms. He was not taking being betrayed and left behind well, but the second the third bomb went off all, signs of hatred vanished from the creature. He hid his face immediately in the girl's arms, shaking in fear of the loud sounds. Katniss rolled her eyes slightly at the cat's cowardice before taking a few steps backward. After ensuring everyone was at a safe distance, she threw the thermite hard at the fence.

The fence's explosion was nowhere near rivaling the sounds of the bombs behind them but it certainly won in terms of light. The flash was almost blinding as the thermite destroyed the entire section of the fence. Parts of the metal flew in every direction until the blinding light vanished and hardly any of the fence remained in front of Katniss. But the Mockingjay didn't even wince. She turned back to the assembled Victors, rebels, and soldiers, shifting the quivering cat in her arms. "Quickly!"

One by one, the soldiers and rebels began to pour out. Not too far from their location and in the woods, the Bonum hovercrafts were landing and opening their doors for the group.

Johanna ripped her arm away from Willow's grasp upon seeing them. She, instead, ran towards Haymitch and Chaff, shouting back towards Willow. "Go on ahead!"

Willow groaned, annoyed, but continued sprinting toward the Bonum hovercrafts.

The larger, dark skinned male was bleeding more and more from his stomach, causing him to significantly slow down Haymitch. Effie was at the man's other side, attempting to aid them but she didn't have much strength to do so. Johanna rushed towards the three. She immediately pulled Effie from Chaff's side and pulled his stump arm awkwardly over her shoulder. "Come on, Mitch, pick up the pace a little!"

"You try carrying a man larger than you alone, Johanna," Haymitch immediately snapped back, although he was thankful for the stronger woman's help.

"What do you think I came back here to do? Now quit your bitching and move out before I throw you both back into the District for forcing me to come over here!" Of course, neither of them had actually forced her and she knew this. The woman just refused to acknowledge the fact she viewed the two as more than just drinking partners. She shifted Chaff's stump to a more comfortable position on her shoulder before pressing through the broken fence, Effie right behind them.

Katniss watched Haymitch, Chaff, Johanna, and Effie pass before craning her neck back toward the District, to make sure everyone was out. Peeta, Delly, and Gale were the last three. The painter let go of Delly's wrist at the fence before pushing her forward to go ahead of him. With his free hands, he grasped onto his gun mostly as a precaution before looking back towards Gale. Delly began to run forward, but not before glancing back at the three remaining Victors, but mainly Peeta, anxiously.

The hunter wasn't fairing too great. His cast leg was starting to bleed again and pain was practically written on his face, but those were the last of his worries. Almost out of ammo, a swarm of tracker jackers were heading straight towards the remaining three. Still, Gale managed to push himself forward through the pain and fear. His eyes went forward, landing on Katniss and Peeta as he ran towards them.

"Go, go!" he yelled, knowing the mutts had to be close by.

Katniss, however, stayed stationary at the fence. She held her hand that wasn't gripping Buttercup out toward Gale desperately. "Hurry!"

The hunter growled slightly towards Katniss, but eventually made his way towards her. Peeta passed Katniss first before Gale reached out, grasping the girl's hand after dropping his gun. He pushed her forward slightly to get her moving towards the crafts.

Peeta, however, was the first one to notice it. His eyes widened slightly as the crafts began to move. The bombs behind them were falling at a faster rate and must have been getting too close to the Bonum crafts for comfort. They were preparing to take off. "We need to move now!" the painter cried out as he grasped Delly's arm again, running as fast as the prosthetic leg under his pants would allow.

Delly darted quickly in front of Peeta, trying to hurry him along faster. Katniss grasped Gale's hand tightly before running after the two blonds as quickly as she could with Gale hanging off the end of her arm. She knew he was hurting, but right now, it was at the bottom of the list of her concerns. After only a few seconds, Peeta managed to push Delly onto the rising craft. The door was still open and the loading slide was still down, making the only difficult part of getting on board the winds that the craft kicked up.

Delly quickly jumped into the hovercraft. She managed to grab hold of the slide before turning to look back at Peeta, holding her hand out toward him. The painter wasted little time. He jumped after her, grasping her hand tightly. He slowly dragged himself up, using his other hand to pull himself along the slide. Eventually, he managed to push Delly forward into the hallway of the craft, but did not follow. Instead, he knelt down, trying to secure his feet to the inside of the door frame. Once he felt his footing and balance were good enough, he turned towards Katniss and Gale, extending a hand. "Come on!"

Gale didn't even give her a chance to turn to him. He dropped his cane immediately before pushing Katniss with as much force as he could towards Peeta. Katniss stumbled hard toward the rising hovercraft and Peeta due to the strength of Gale's push. She quickly spun around and looked at him as Peeta grasped on to Katniss tightly. He started to pull her back up and towards the hallway to safety.

The craft's slide was already up to Gale's chest at this point and he knew he had to act fact. The hunter jumped up, trying to will all his strength to his upper body as he grasped the sides of the slide. He began to pull himself up with great difficulty as his hips and legs dangled from the edge.

Katniss allowed Peeta to pull her up onto the hovercraft without struggling for once. As soon as she was close enough, though, she pushed Buttercup and Peeta backwards into the hallway before leaning out, holding her hands out toward Gale's. The hunter looked at her, fatiguing rather quickly. He tried to reach but his hands immediately went back to the sides of the slide. She was too far from his position to grab on to and he was afraid he would lose his grip on the metal.

Peeta pushed the cat off his chest before scrambling back towards Katniss. He knew it would be futile to pull her back in and she might be the last chance to get Gale in the craft. Instead, he reached forward and grabbed hold of the girl's ankles to keep her steady. "Reach for him, I got you!"

Katniss glanced back at Peeta for a split second, thankfulness written all over her face. She lowered herself down the slide quickly, grasping onto his hands on the sides of the metal almost painfully. "I have you! Let go!"

Gale began to comply but his voice cracked out into a yelp. His eyes widened before the pupils began to dilate as a tracker jacker crawled out from behind the hunter's ear. Katniss cursed under her breath before tightening her hands further on Gale's, trying in vain to stop the hallucinations. "Gale! Gale, listen to me! Grab my hands!"

The hunter shook his head violently as he went to reach for her hands. However, through his eyes, there were thousands of hands before him, all reaching towards him and all different colors, including some he's never seen before. The hands all reached out at once as they began to push him backwards towards what he thought was an ocean of fireworks.

In reality, the boy's hands slid weakly down the panels of metal as his body fell completely from the craft, towards the woods that they were now hovering a dangerous height above. Katniss screamed for him as she watched him fall from the craft, her hands scrambling uselessly after him even though he was already gone.

**_To be continued..._**

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><p>AN: Another thank you to everybody who's stuck around so far! We couldn't be thankful enough to all our loyal readers and we hope that you come read the next and final fanfiction of the series, **War Games.** As Songbird was, War Games will be available _very _soon!


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